By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
The Del Rio High School Queens closed out their nondistrict schedule
with another resounding victory, sweeping the C.C. Winn Mavericks Friday at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium.
The 25-12, 25-8, 25-13 victory improved Del Rio’s record to 12-3, while Winn fell to 4-15.
The Queens came out of the gate like a high-octane race car in the opening set and never took their foot off the gas.
The teams were briefly tied at 2-2 before Del Rio’s Kennedy Duenez served 11 consecutive points, helping the Queens build a lead the Mavericks never threatened.
Del Rio went on to claim the first set, 25-12.
Queens head coach Angelica Rivera said the fast start reflected one of several goals the team had established before the match, including limiting how many points Winn would score.
Rivera declined to reveal the exact target, but the Queens clearly met it.
Throughout the match, Del Rio did whatever the moment required, whether that meant delivering the perfect set for a teammate or scrambling to keep a broken play alive and send the ball back over the net.
The Queens hammered the young Mavericks in the second set, 25-8, to move within one set of completing the sweep.
Winn offered more resistance in the third set and reached double digits, but Del Rio remained firmly in control and closed out the match with a 25-13 win.
Rivera said the Queens’ biggest challenge was not their opponent, but maintaining the right mindset when Winn managed to string together a few points.
“Sometimes, we beat ourselves mentally,” Rivera said. “When they score a few points on us, it’s hard for us to buy back in mentally. It’s not that we aren’t skilled enough to do it; it just gets in our heads.
“Then we take a little timeout, regroup and get back to it. I think that’s the biggest challenge for us.”
With their nondistrict tuneups behind them, the Queens will now turn their attention to a schedule filled with Class 6A opponents.
Del Rio entered district play last season with a double-digit win total but failed to win a district match.
Rivera said this is a new year and a more seasoned team as the Queens prepare to open district play against San Antonio Southwest, which enters the matchup with an 8-16 record.
“This is a more experienced team this year,” Rivera said. “They’ve put in a lot of work, and they’re extremely hungry to do everything they can to make this a more successful season.”
The Queens will host Southwest at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium.
The writer can be reached at JoelALangton@gmail.com.
