By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Last season it took the Del Rio Queens volleyball team nine matches before it notched its first win.
This season, it took just one.
The Queens (15-8, 1-0) opened play in District 30-6A Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 sweep of the Laredo LBJ Lady Wolves. Del Rio won the match 30-28, 25-21, 25-21.
It was also the first district win for new Queens head coach Angelica Rivera.
“These girls continue to amaze me. They are coachable and all want the same outcome,” Rivera said.
The win marks a continued turnaround for a program that finished the 2021 season with just one district win and 14 wins total. They’ve already matched their district total from last season and have surpassed their overall win total as well.
Rivera, who coached at Del Rio Middle School prior to this season, emphasized that this was a total team win for the Queens volleyball program.
“All of the back row, including Chloe (Vargas) and Valeria (Galindo) did an excellent job moving for the ball,” Rivera said.
Senior Karolina Alderete continued her all-district caliber season with 19 kills to lead Del Rio. Kylie Ramirez had nine kills and Yuridia Muñiz added seven kills. Muñiz also led the Queens with six blocks.
Syann Casillas had a team-high 33 assists and led the group with 21 digs. She wasn’t alone in putting up big numbers when it came to digs as Sherlyn Estrada had 15 digs and Angela Mijares and Alderete each added 13 digs.
Elsewhere around 30-6A, defending district champions Laredo United defeated United South, 25-9, 25-14, 25-14; and Laredo Alexander swept Eagle Pass, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20.
Del Rio returns to action Tuesday night when the Queens host the Laredo United South Lady Panthers at 7 p.m. at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium. Sub-varsity is scheduled to play at 5:30 p.m.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
