ALICE — The first eight points of Saturday’s Region IV-5A area-round playoff volleyball match told the story between Sharyland High and Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial.
It wasn’t a novel. It was a short story.
Sharyland led 8-0. Vets had already taken a timeout and the match at that point was just five minutes long. It was an explosive start that ssent a huge statement to Corpus Christi Veterans.
While the Eagles calmed down and gave themselves some chances, Saturday was 100% Shary, almost all the time. The Eagles only had one rally of four points in the entire match, that coming when they took a 4-0 lead to open the third. They led until 10-7 before Nicole Cavazos served up six straight points, including one ace, and Sharyland was in control again.
When the match ended, 64 minutes after it started, the Rattlers were celebrating a convincing 25-13, 25-17, 25-20 victory and preparing for a trip to the regional quarterfinal round against Victoria West with a game and a trip to the Sweet 16.
(See the photo gallery here: Sharyland sweeps CC Veterans)
It didn’t take long for Veterans to realize they couldn’t go punch for punch with the powerful hitting Rattlers. While they took their opportunities, they spent most of the match tipping balls, pushing them to open spots and the corners and cutting the ball at sharp angles.
While it caught Sharyland by surprise, in the blink of an eye it was back on the attack, led by sophomores Kenisha Martinez, Kassandra De La Garza and senior America Hernandez. The three-headed hitting beasts combined for 35 kills, led by Martinez’s 23.
The Rattlers improved to 43-4 on the season and for head coach Raul Castillo, it was a big win after his squad didn’t reach the postseason last year in an super-competitive District 31-5A. This year, however, they made no doubt about it, dropping just one match during district en route to the title.
“It means everything,” Castillo said about the two dominant playoff victories. “This year it’s with a majority of the same squad from last year. You can see they are hungry. Last year, they came out and kind of fell flat on their face. This year they are doing all the little things that matter, staying focused, communicating, not getting upset — all the things we didn’t last year.”
Throughout the season, Castillo referenced the team’s energy and its intensity. Even though Vets jumped out to 4-0 and 9-5 leads in the third set, there wasn’t a sense that Sharyland was losing control.
“Honestly it was great, from the moment we got here we were pumped and we stepped onto the court to practice with all the energy in the world,” said Hernandez, who added a pair of aces and blocks to go with her eight kills. “We knew if we worked together as a team we had it, and in the end we did. That’s what we’ve been doing all year.”