Lady Patriots strengthen district lead with three games left
Redemption is a panoptic force. It can be galvanizing or defeating. It can build you, or its pressure can break you. Last season, The Mission Veterans Lady Patriots failed to hoist a district championship for the first time in a decade. The team most responsible for that outcome, the Palmview Lady Lobos, assumed the Lady Patriots position as champions after sweeping them in district play. The Lady Patriots never forgot.
On Tuesday night, the Mission Veterans Lady Patriots volleyball team traveled to Palmview for redemption. They trounced the Palmview Lady Lobos in a dominating three-set sweep by final scores of 25-18, 25-20, and 25-12. Their thirteenth consecutive victory brings their record over their last 25 games to 22-3. The Lady Patriots are undefeated in district play and have only dropped one set to second place Mission High. Their overall record (29-4, 13-0) is already six games better than last year’s with three remaining regular season games. They are on pace for their highest regular season wins total since 2022.
Despite winning their first matchup, the Lady Veterans prepared to face a different Lady Lobos team on the road. The gym was loud and chaotic. Lobos and the Patriots faithful packed the gym to witness this showdown between the District 30-5A giants. The only thing that remained to be determined was if the Lady Patriots could withstand the hostility of a road environment this late in the season against a team that matched their hunger. They made that question seem nonsensical very quickly.
In their first meeting, the Lady Lobos could telegraph the Lady Patriots’ attack and constantly put themselves into positions for defensive digs, thanks mainly to the activity of defensive stalwarts Jessica Arevalo, Miley Zieske, and Arizona Gauna.
Tuesday night, the Lady Patriots came prepared. They avoided hitting directly into the Lady Lobos’ defense and instead got them playing on their heels and moving side to side. Although they were prepared to repel the Patriots attack, and their star player Mady Perez, losing extended rallies and missed assignments were their undoing.
“In the first round when we played them, they were digging the heck out of our downline balls. This time, we decided to move to the outside, to the middle, and wherever needed. I told them, ‘Don’t get stuck on one rotation,’ all of my four go-to hitters adjusted very well,” Lady Patriots’ head coach Diana Lerma said when asked about her team’s winning strategy.
Those four hitters, Sophia Pacheco, Mady Perez, Delilah Cantu, and Caylie Montalvo, combined for over 50 kills. Pacheco, Perez, and Cantu once again proved themselves to be the most dominant attacking trio in District 30-5A after sinking the Lady Lobos’ hopes with each successive kill.
In the second set, the Lady Lobos mounted a serious resistance to the avalanche they were facing. Zieske’s attacking prowess, Kylie Cantu’s versatility and refusal to lose, and Arevalo’s staunch defense kept the Lady Lobos energized and competitive. The Lady Patriots’ dominance was just too much to overcome. They would go on to win the second set after pulling away in its final moments. In the third set, they bulldozed their way to victory and came one step closer to their goal of a district championship.
The Lady Lobos won’t be repeating as district champions this year; the loss stings. But head coach Margo Iglesias-Cantu sees it as an opportunity for growth. She believes the loss is just preparation for the playoffs, when the Lady Lobos face a team from one of the toughest leagues in Texas high school sports: District 29-5A.
“That’s the way the Corpus schools are gonna play…that’s their style of playing. At the end of the day this is going to help us for the bi-district title. That’s a team you wanna play,” Iglesias- Cantu said after Tuesday’s loss.
The Lady Lobos have four games left against Laredo LBJ, Roma, second place Mission High, and Laredo Martin. If the Lady Eagles lose and the Lady Lobos defeat them in their final head-to-head meeting, they could split the second seed which could possibly improve their seeding. But Iglesias-Cantu isn’t waiting on a seeding game or a coin flip. Her focus, and that of her team, is on finishing this year strong and winning a bi-district championship.
“I feel like we’re not done yet. It’s not done. It’s just the beginning. There’s still a lot of fight left in the Lady Lobos and hopefully we can show everybody and surprise them by winning that bi-district title. I feel like we’re gonna shock some people,” Iglesias-Cantu said when asked what people can expect from the Lady Lobos in the future.
The Lady Patriots travel to Laredo tomorrow to face the Nixon Lady Mustangs (12-10, 3-9) and finish off the year at home against Juarez Lincoln (2-16, 1-10) before returning to Laredo to battle the Cigarroa Lady Toros (11-12, 3-6). Although their journey is incomplete, all indications are that they will be crowned district champions, barring any major setback.
“This year our goal was to bring it back, and I think that’s what we’re gonna do. As long as they (her players) understand and believe in the coaching and what’s being done. It’s not to hurt anybody, but it’s to bring the very best as a team together,” Lerma said when asked about her team being on the cusp of yet another district championship.”