Many Rio Grande Valley high school volleyball athletes blocked, dug, assisted and scored their way to stardom in 2015, and three in particular stood out for their efforts.
Los Fresnos’ Joseline Caraveo, McAllen Rowe’s Mayda Garcia and Mission Veterans Memorial’s Gabby Lerma are nominated to be named the Volleyball Player of the Year at the 2016 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet on June 14 at DoubleTree Suites in McAllen.
Representatives from the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, The Monitor, the Brownsville Herald and the Valley Morning Star voted on three nominations for the category. The winner will be revealed at the banquet.
More on the nominees:
>> Joseline Caraveo: The 5-foot-11 middle blocker helped lead her Los Fresnos squad to a 39-9 overall record. Caraveo recorded 351 kills, 237 blocks and 62 digs. From the service line, she displayed 91.3 percent accuracy and also had six aces.
>> Mayda Garcia: Garcia amassed 688 kills, 868 digs, 144 blocks and 87 assists in leading her McAllen Rowe team to a 36-6 record and the Class 6A regional semifinals. She accomplished this despite switching roles on her team, moving from middle blocker to outside hitter. The 5-foot-9 junior was a nightmare for opponents with her rangy, athletic frame and speed around the net.
>> Gabby Lerma: The steady senior compiled 692 digs, 590 kills and 58 aces in leading Mission Veterans Memorial to the Class 5A regional quarterfinals. Lerma emerged as the Lady Patriots’ go-to offensive threat after spending much of her early career as a defensive specialist. Earlier this week, Lerma signed to continue her volleyball career at Cameron University.
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson will be the keynote speaker at June’s banquet.
Pearson, who was inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 2011 after a standout career defined by his performances in the clutch, will highlight the function hosted by RGVSports.com in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame. The awards banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will recognize team and individual standouts in multiple sports over the past year.
To buy tickets to the banquet, log on to TheMonitor.com, BrownsvilleHerald.com, or ValleyStar.com and click on the rgvsports_banquet link on the toolbar on the home page of each website.