As the 2023 volleyball season winds down, the El Paso High Tigers are on the verge of going undefeated in district play for the second consecutive year en route to another district championship.
Last year’s team won the area championship, and members remain optimistic in repeating the success this season.
“We made it past district, bi-district and area last year. The girls made it to area, and so hopefully this year, we can get to that,” junior Isabella Hernandez said.
The Tigers enter their final regular-season game seeking their 30th win with a 29-7 overall record, including a 9-0 mark in district play.
Head coach, Yesenia Alarcon-Ortega, and her attitude towards the sport and the team is a key part of their continued success. In addition to rigor filled drills, she holds her volleyball team to a high standard.
Players have been seeing the difference, but none more so than senior Mia Rayas because of her years spent playing club level volleyball as well as playing for EPHS since 2020.
Mia’s years spent on the court have shaped her opinion on what a good regime is.
She believes it to be a crucial part of El Paso High’s continued success on the tournament courts. Pushing the team to their limits and in the process bringing out the better player in them all.
Improvements are also inspired by the players as much as they are by the head coach Alarcon-Ortega, and assistant coach Araceli Monarez, who is a new addition to the varsity volleyball team as an assistant.
The sport itself and its competitive nature force the girls to be constantly improving and adapting.
“Volleyball’s actually been very challenging mentally and physically… and it just pushes me to be better and work harder because I see the girls, and I look up to them,” Isabella said.
Building upon this commitment, Mia highlights the positive chemistry within the team and their ongoing progress of active improvement.
“The chemistry of the team is there. Each week I see improvement little by little,” Mia said.
Those improvements have paid off as they’ve won 16 consecutive games since losing to Midland on Aug. 25 during a tournament.
Junior, Hannah Garcia, said the team remains focused as they approach the playoffs.
“I think the team has been doing great so far. Since the beginning of the season, we’ve all improved on our weaknesses and I feel like all of our connections improved as a team,” Hannah said. “Everyone individually has been all in the whole season and we’re all going for the same goal.”
Hannah added how the new coaches have impacted all of the teams and especially herself as a player, giving credit to coach Monarez, who joined the program after spending he past four years at Burges.
“I definitely enjoy the new coaches. On their first day here, they were all so dedicated to help each player grow throughout the program,” Hannah said. “They’ve been unconditionally supportive and I truly appreciate them.”
Hannah remains confident the team will complete their undefeated run in district play as they prepare for the playoffs.
“I believe that we’ll continue our winning streak…I think everyone is focused on finishing the season the right way. We plan to finish districts undefeated and get to regionals again this year,” Hannah said.
