By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — When Destiny Martinez started her freshman year at Harlingen High, she wrote down two goals and pinned them to her wall so she would see them every night before she went to sleep.
Martinez dreamed of being the setter for the Lady Cardinals and leading them to the postseason. And she wanted to earn setter of the year honors in the process.
During the 2020 season, Martinez made those dreams come true. She earned the right to be Harlingen High’s sole setter and racked up 427 assists as an every-rotation player. She helped the Lady Cardinals end a six-year playoff drought and clinch a bi-district victory. For her efforts running the offense, Martinez was named the Valley Morning Star’s All-STAR setter of the year.
“Since my freshman year, I told myself I was going to be setter of the year and I was going to make it to playoffs,” Martinez said. “It was amazing when I found out that I accomplished this. It’s a really big blessing. I couldn’t have done this without my team, they’re the main factor to why I am here. They pushed me to make myself better, they would tell me the stuff I needed to fix and that made me push myself even harder.
“I wouldn’t trade this year for any other year,” she added. “Making it to playoffs was probably the best thing to ever happen. Knowing we hadn’t made it in six years and we broke the chain was unbelievable. We became a family this year.”
The team bond Martinez helped develop as the Lady Cardinals’ captain is something she credits for her success. Martinez found comfort in the trust she and her teammates shared, and she said the belief her teammates and coaches had in her helped her handle the responsibilities of a setter.
“It’s a great feeling knowing that you control the whole game, but there’s a lot of pressure,” Martinez said. “My teammates are there for me, and they have my back. If I mess up on a set, they’ll tell me it’s OK because they know I’ll get the next one. That’s what made me feel relaxed when I was setting. It’s the connections we have.”
Harlingen High coach Joslynn Torres said Martinez had been asking to carry the sole setter workload since her junior season, so when the opportunity came up this season for that to happen, she didn’t hesitate.
Torres said Martinez always has been a hard worker, but she was especially determined to make her final season with the Lady Cardinals the best one yet. She said Martinez started focusing on the 2020 season immediately after they lost a postseason play-in game at the end of 2019, so she knows how much the success and accolades mean to the “go-getter,” who was also named District 32-6A’s setter of the year.
“When we fell short in the play-in game against Hanna, literally right after that game, she asked, ‘Coach, can we have open gym tomorrow?’” Torres said. “I’m really, really proud of what she did for us. After every win or every loss, I would reiterate that of all my teams, I wanted this team to be successful. And a lot of that was because of Destiny and the hunger she showed me after that loss her junior year. I’m really excited for her and that her hard work paid off.”
Martinez thanked her parents, Mary and Carlos Martinez, and her coaches and teammates for their support. She also holds a special place in her heart for the school officials that allowed her to have the season that she dreamed about for years.
“I always thank God for everything, and I also thank administration that I got to play volleyball my senior year,” Martinez said. “Without them, we wouldn’t have played. Sometimes in the halls they’d say congratulations after a win, and it gave me that great feeling that we’re doing this for our school.”