Still on top
Pioneer goes 3-0 in pool play in Shary ISD tourney
BY HENRY MILLER
STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Sharyland Pioneer’s Mariana Trevino turned to the bench, looked at her coach and simply said, “Sorry, that was mine.”
She was referring to a ball that hit the floor clearly in her zone during the second set of match against Brownsville Veterans on Thursday during the first day of pool play at the Sharyland ISD volleyball tournament.
There were no frills or stoppage of play. In fact, the play had long been forgotten within seconds — maybe less.
It was back to business for the defending District 31-5A and Sharyland ISD tournament champion Diamondbacks.
Trevino, Rebekah Perez and a host of new Diamondbacks went back to work, downing Brownsville Veterans 25-13, 25-21 in less than an hour, and Pioneer won all three of its pool play matches heading into today’s second day of action. Twenty-one teams are competing in the event this year, with matches being held at both Pioneer and Sharyland High.
The single-elimination championship bracket will take place Saturday.
Pioneer is coming off a monumental season in which it claimed a 37-5 overall record and 12-2 mark in District 31-5A, only losing twice in straight sets to McAllen Rowe . But the Diamondbacks lost a large group of powerfully talented seniors to graduation, including The Monitor’s 2021 All-Area Player of the Year, setter Natalie Reyes. Head coach Laura Cavazos, who last week eclipsed the 300-win mark, said there is no comparison from one team to the next. Every year is a new season.
“The challenge is the same: Get them prepared for what’s ahead,” Cavazos said. “We have a core from last year’s team, and they know the expectations and everybody else has filled in nicely. They bring that competitive spirit, and they’ve been in the organization and know what the expectations are.”
That core includes Trevino, libero Jada Lopez and middle hitter Marcela Martinez.
“They bring a wealth of experience from the past two years, so we’re trying to lean on them to be that leadership role and to continue to drive the team forward in all aspects of the team on and off the court,” Cavazos said. “They went through so much and accomplished a lot, and that puts me at ease, too, moving forward, that we have that within that team.”
Trevino said they heard all summer about how they are supposed to perform this year. So far, the “experts” have been wrong. Pioneer goes into the second round of pool play today with a 16-3 record. And, until someone knocks the Diamondbacks off, they are still the defending district champions in the most competitive and toughest district in the Rio Grande Valley.
“Coming in, a lot of people are, like, ‘Oh, Pioneer is not going to be a good team now that they lost a majority of their starters,” Trevino said. “But we just kept practicing and kept a positive mindset. We got off to a good start in the summer and have made a good mark in these preseason games.
“We just have to keep on going, forget any mistakes, communicate and keep our heads up. Anyone comes our way, we’ve got this.”
