MERCEDES — Mission Veterans carried a 21-game winning streak the Patriots built during the regular season and added another to it during the opening round of the playoffs by sweeping Mercedes 25-15, 25-18, 25-11 on Tuesday at Mercedes High School.
Playing on the road in the Tigers’ home gym, the Patriots had no problems getting started, but during the middle of each set, they played a little sluggish, in head coach Diana Lerma’s words.
“I think some of our girls didn’t show up to play at their best level. We had some girls out, but we still found a way to get the job done,” Lerma said after her team’s bi-district playoff win.
Still, the Patriots were on point enough to dispatch the Tigers in just three sets.
Mission Veterans opened the match with a solid first set. Kassy Lerma and Rylie Barnett found windows to send balls soaring past the outstretched hands and arms of the Mercedes defense for a win.
In the second, however, is when the Patriots appeared to take their foot off the gas. At one point, the Tigers held an 11-10 lead, but a Mission Veterans timeout and words from Lerma to her team turned things around. The Patriots stormed back to take the second set.
If the Patriots played a bit slow during the first two sets, there was no sign of it during the third. Mission Veterans put together a dominant third set to close the show 25-11. Kassy Lerma ended things as her spike found a space on the floor for the match-winning kill.
“In the first round, it’s always going to be scrappy,” senior setter Ronnie Cantu said. “Playing here in the Valley, I think we came out with a good performance. It’s a good start, we were a little slow, but a win’s a win, and we came out with that.”
Kassy Lerma finished with a match-high 22 kills, 15 digs, two blocks and two aces, while Karina Salinas and Rylie Barnett added eight kills apiece. Libero Bella Dominguez came up with 25 digs, and Cantu recorded 24 assists and three aces.
“It’s a great start. You’re always going to be playing more competitive teams, so Mercedes was good competition and a really good start to the playoffs,” Cantu said. “It’s only going to go up from here. We have to have the mindset that we’re the underdogs going into every game. In the second round against Carroll, it’s going to be a tough one, so we’re going to have to come out strong in that one.”
The Patriots will play Corpus Christi Carroll in the second round of the playoffs. Time, date and place are to be determined.