By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Fitting that on a day when the Queens volleyball team honored its seniors, it was those leaders that helped lift the team to its first district win of the season.
Del Rio ended an eight-match losing streak with a rousing three-set sweep of the Laredo Nixon Lady Mustangs Saturday in front of the home fans at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium.
Del Rio (13-17, 1-8) beat Nixon (1-9) 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 to earn its first district win this season. The win keeps Del Rio’s slim playoff hopes alive as Laredo United South, the team they’re chasing for the last playoff spot, was idle Saturday.
With big hitter Karolina Alderete on the bench in street clothes due to an ankle injury she suffered the previous Saturday, the Queens welcomed back libero Angela Mijares. Her hustle and energy helped bolster Del Rio’s back line and fired up her teammates throughout the match.
An early kill by Kylie Ramirez gave the Queens the lead, but Nixon was went on a 5-0 run to take a 9-8 lead.
Senior Kailani Goodspeed, who smiled and roared with emotion on nearly every successful Del Rio point, ended the Mustangs’ run with a kill of her own.
Mijares’ serve gave Del Rio the lead back, 12-10, and another late kill by Ramirez helped seal the 25-22 win in the first set.
Ramirez wasn’t done. She posted a pair of kills at the start of the second set, and senior Tatum Koehler’s serve helped guide the Queens to a 4-0 lead.
Del Rio kept its foot on the pedal throughout the second set. After a Ramirez kill made it 8-3, the hustle of Goodspeed and Koehler fired up the crowd and their Queens teammates. When Nixon cut the Del Rio lead to three, senior Bertha Faz slammed home a kill of her own to push the lead back to four. Not be outdone, Goodspeed rocketed a cross-court kill of her own to give Del Rio a 14-8 advantage.
When the game was contested at the net, Ramirez stepped up again. First she notched a big block to draw “ooohs” from the crowd, then she instinctively kicked her leg out and made a save that eventually turned into a point for the Queens and a 19-13 lead.
Iva Garabedian and Faz helped close out the set with kills down the stretch as Del Rio pulled out the 25-19 win.
The third set didn’t start Del Rio’s way as Nixon’s front line helped the Lady Mustangs build a 6-2 lead. The lead grew to 10-3 before Nixon served the ball out of bounds and gave the Queens a shot at cutting into the lead.
Garabedian helped lead Del Rio back, notching back-to-back kills before a point from senior Belinda Torres’ serve cut the lead to 10-7.
Senior Carlamarina Fuentes led Del Rio all the way back with a pair of points off serve, putting the Queens up 13-11. From there, Del Rio never looked back.
Goodspeed skied for a block to make it 14-12. Ramirez then came up big again with a kill to push the lead to 16-13.
Kills by Faz and Goodspeed kept the Queens in front down the stretch, and when Nixon’s return smashed into the net on match point, it set off a long-awaited celebration by the Queens and their fans.
Seniors Fuentes, Faz, Goodspeed, Koehler and Torres were honored by their coaches, teammates and parents after the match.
Del Rio travels to Laredo to face state-ranked Alexander Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The Queens’ final home match of the season will be Saturday, Oct. 23, when they host the Laredo United South Lady Panthers at 1 p.m. at Guys Gym.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
