Arabians win 6th straight District volleyball championship

After two more district wins, Devine has claimed the title of District Champion! With one game left against Fox Tech that was played Tuesday night, the Arabians will head into playoffs in first place. The Bi-District game will be November 1st or 2nd against 4th place from District 30. As of Monday night, it looked to be Pearsall.
In a non-district game against Holy Cross, the Arabians won the first two sets but then Holy Cross took the third set. Devine stepped up and took the fourth set with the largest point gap of the night. Devine won 25-22, 25-23, 21-25, and 25-15. “This was a great win for us going into a must win game against YWLA. This allowed us to play against a faster paced offense, something we don’t always see in district games and help us prepare a little more for playoffs. We did some great things on offense and defense tonight,” said Coach Leigh Anne McIver.
Avery Cruz 32 digs, 3 assists. Rylee Esquibel 10 kills, 23 digs, 1 assist. Kristina Moralez 12 digs. Bailey Oropeza 1 ace, 7 digs, 1 assist. Darian Alvarez 5 kills, 4 digs, 1 assist. Brooklyn Miller 15 kills, 8 digs. Macey Hein 4 kills, 3 aces, 1 block, 19 digs, 42 assists. Aleyna Gerlach 12 kills, 1 block, 3 digs. Skylar Blanton 4 kills, 1 block. Cece Martinez 1 block.
With a lot riding on Tuesday, October 19th’s game, the Arabians took on Young Women’s Leadership Academy. A loss would tie the two teams but a win would put YWLA behind Devine by two games. The first set was tight with Devine pulling out the win at 26-24. YWLA lost the second set 25-21 and with no steam left, Devine beat YWLA 25-11 to take the game 3-0. “The first 2 sets were back and forth but our girls pulled it together at the right time to get those 2 wins. We had girls step up offensively that really helped us score points at the right time. I think we finally relaxed a little in the third set and we were able to play more of our game. This win got us at least a part of the district championship. A win over Brooks on Friday will secure our 6th straight district championship,” added Coach McIver.
Cruz 22 digs, 4 assists. Esquibel 16 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 14 digs. Kristina Moralez 5 aces, 13 digs. Oropeza 6 digs. Alvarez 5 kills, 1 block, 1 dig. Miller 8 kills, 2 digs. Hein 4 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks, 13 digs, 35 assists. Gerlach 4 kills, 1 block, 4 digs. Blanton 1 kills, 1 block 2 digs.
With the championship on the line, Devine took down Brooks Academy 3-0. They powered thru the other team and did not let them break double digits in any set. “We had a great serving night! 17 points of aces alone! Everyone contributed offensively and our defense kept focus for the majority of the night,” said Coach McIver. Devine won 25-9, 25-7, and 25-9 but more importantly secured the district title.
Cruz 2 aces, 8 digs. Esquibel 10 kills, 3 digs. Moralez 8 aces, 5 digs. Alvarez 3 kills, 1 block, 2 digs. Oropeza 1 ace, 2 digs. Miller 5 kills, 2 digs. Hein 6 kills, 5 aces, 3 digs, 31 assists. Brianna Torres 2 kills, 2 digs. Gerlach 6 kills, Blanton 8 kills, 2 digs. Martinez 1 ace, 5 digs.
The UIL website will be updated with playoff information as it is available. Make sure to head to the Arabian’s playoff game next week!
By Dicy Chambers
Sports Writer