Canyon sweeps Mission Veterans

CORPUS CHRISTI — In their first trip to the Class 4A regional semifinals, the Mission Veterans Memorial Lady Patriots took a one-point lead in the first game but failed to stretch it further as New Braunfels Canyon pulled away for a 25-13, 25-14, 25-12 win.

Mission Veterans (32-3) picked the worst time for its offense to stall, while a confident Canyon team pushed for double-digit leads.

“We just talked about being the first team to five points,” New Braunfels Canyon coach Heather Sanders said. “We knew that they were a very high energy team and could easily get on a roll so one of our goals was to jump out quick.”

Canyon’s offensive outbursts, led by Lark Miller (14 kills and two blocks) and Brandi DeBaker (nine kills, nine digs and three aces), created havoc with the Lady Patriots’ mindset in the sweep.

Mission Veterans’ woes on offense began on defense as it failed to neutralize the Canyon attack and gain offensive possessions of its own.

“Honestly, I was shocked that we were playing this way because this isn’t the way we play.

You could see it in each other’s face that we just weren’t there,” Mission Veterans setter Sonia Lerma said. “When we arrived some people were thinking ‘Oh they’re a good team.’ They were intimidated early, you could say.”

Lerma finished with 10 kills, 24 assists, and three aces to lead a sporadic assault that kept the Lady Patriots within striking range. However, the rest of their well-balanced attack failed.

Kolby Warren had six kills but was otherwise absent from the Lady Patriots’ attack, while Isela Flores and Brandi Taylor added four kills each.

After Canyon (35-7) put away Mission Veterans 25-13 in the first game, the Lady Patriots’ psyche took a major hit as in the subsequent games they failed to move their feet on defense.

When the Lady Patriots did pull together for digs, the power behind Canyon’s attack threw off any counter attack, and they entered the third and final game out of sync.

“We just couldn’t get our offense, and I think that’s what we lacked in this game. You

could tell that New Braunfels Canyon was very confident once they got their lead. They were just running from right to left to middle, and we just couldn’t stay up with them

defensively,” Mission Veterans coach Diana Lerma said.

In the third game, Mission Veterans’ lack of defensive effort saw the Cougarettes clinch a decisive 25-12 lead after a lethal Miller kill.

New Braunfels Canyon led by as many as 11 points in the second game. Lerma tried to rally the Lady Patriots but DeBaker’s wizardry at the net was enough for a 25-14 decision.

Canyon will meet Corpus Christi Calallen in the regional final at a site to be determined.