By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio had playoff hopes in their sights, but Eagle Pass had other plans.
Needing a win in its final match of the regular season, Del Rio traveled to Eagle Pass Tuesday to look for what it hoped would be a fairytale ending to a season that began with such promise.
Instead, Eagle Pass swept the Queens in three sets. That loss, coupled with Laredo United South’s win over LBJ that same night, officially eliminated the Queens from playoff contention in volleyball and extended Del Rio’s absence from the playoffs to seven years.
The Queens finish the 2022 campaign with an overall record of 17-15.
Del Rio and Eagle Pass both finished the regular season 3-7 in district play, but because the Lady Eagles swept the season series against Del Rio, it was Eagle Pass who claimed the fourth seed in District 30-6A.
Laredo United won its sixth consecutive district champion with a 3-1 win over Laredo Alexander. United has not lost a district match since 2018.
Alexander finished the regular season 8-2 with both losses coming to United. The Lady Bulldogs will claim the number two seed in the playoffs.
United South finished the district scheduled 4-6 to take the third seed.
Eagle Pass will be the fourth seed at 3-7.
Del Rio finished the first half of district play 2-3 and was in line to end its playoff drought. After six district matches, the Queens were 3-3 and needed just one more win in their final four matches to secure at least a playoff spot.
But Del Rio was never able to get that fourth win, losing to United, Alexander, South and Eagle Pass. The Queens also had to deal with an injury to star Karolina Alderete, who bowed out of the match against Alexander with an ankle injury. Alderete was able to play in the season finale against Eagle Pass, but she wasn’t at 100 percent.
Tuesday’s match was the final for seniors Ashlee Hernandez, Kylie Ramirez, Iva Garabedian, Valeria Galindo, Jessica Mata and Alderete.
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