Alexander middle blocker Abby Buenrostro is the Lady Bulldogs' lone senior. She endured the COVID-19 season as a freshman and saw all her teammates drop out of the program through her four-year journey.
Heading into her final season of suiting up for the Blue & Gold, the Clark Middle School product had one goal while playing for the Lady Bulldog program: win a district title. In her final regular season match, Buenrostro helped the Lady Bulldogs sweep rival United 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-16) to win the District 30-6A title with a perfect 10-0 record.
“It has been due for these past few years,” Buenrostro said. “So happy to be a senior that says I won the district my senior year. These girls have worked so hard, I have worked so hard these past few years. I am so happy and blessed with this team.”
This marks the first time United does not win or share the title since 2017. The Lady Longhorns head into the postseason as the No. 2 seed.
The Lady Bulldogs broke a four-year district title drought as they return the gold ball to Alexander. Now Alexander heads into the postseason as the No. 1 seed as they open their quest for a bi-district title.
“All the kids have contributed to the success we had this season so far,” Alexander head coach Ari Bermea-Mendoza said. “But I want to give a shout out to all those kids in the past years that worked hard for this program and had the same goal but have fallen short the last few years. We had not been able to get over that hump, but I knew if we stayed focused, we had the right kids in the right spots and we executed the right way the ball would roll our way this year.”
Buenrostro finished her with three blocks and two kills in her final regular season match as the Lady Bulldogs took control of the game in the second set after fending off United from the inception.
Alexander’s goal was not only to win the District 30-6A title but to not drop a single set, and they were able to accomplish both goals on Tuesday. The Lady Bulldogs went 10-0 in district play and 30-0 in sets.
“I think that it is important as coaches that we keep our kids focused every day at practice and for them to hold each other accountable,” Bermea-Mendoza said. “Ultimately we set our preseason goal for ourselves, we set a district goal for ourselves and those daily reminders. Why are we here, what are we trying to do, what are we trying to accomplish. Those reminders for us, they came through.”
The Alexander 2023 District 30-6A championship team consists of Buenrostro, Abriella Bentancourt, Emily Buitron, Mariajose Cosio, Carolina Elizondo, Brianna Espinoza, Stella Evans, Angie Garcia, Cassandra Gonzalez, Sofia Gonzalez, Andrea Nuñez, Fernanda Omaña, Isabella Ramirez and Amari Randez.
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