VOLLEYBALL: Holy Cross sweeps reigning TAPPS 4-4A champ

Knights hand Victoria St. Joseph first district loss since 2012

AREA TEAMS INCLUDED: Holy Cross.

Holy Cross sophomore libero Daisy Flores made 12 digs in the victory over Victoria St. Joseph.

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Victoria St. Joseph (35-2, 11-1) has been the giants in what is now TAPPS District 4-4A, but the Flyers were slain by Holy Cross (29-13, 10-1) Sept. 30 in Victoria. It was the Knights’ first win over the perennial district champions, who have reached the TAPPS state finals each of the last two years.

Holy Cross not only handed St. Joseph its first district loss since 2012, but won in three games: 25-14, 25-19, 25-20. In fact, the Flyers hadn’t lost a game in district play in the last two seasons.

St. Joseph was No. 1 in the MaxPreps TAPPS 4A rankings and No. 3 in their TAPPS overall rankings. The loss ended a 20-match winning streak.

“They’re a great program,” Holy Cross coach Ruben Calderon said. “I just knew we had an opportunity to play great. It was a surprise that we did as well as we did. I never expected anything like that, but we’ll take it.”

Henrianna Ibarra (14 kills, 18 digs) and Victoria Gonzalez (7 kills, 8 digs, 3 blocks) each served four aces for the Knights. Anna Zuniga (17 aces, 9 digs, 1.5 blocks) chipped in three aces.

Daisy Flores contributed 12 digs and Stella Ramirez had eight. Kimberly Butcher dealt nine assists. Megan Hernandez added four kills.

“We’ve been changing our lineup and serving rotation,” Calderon said. “Henrianna’s first serves were workng really well, and that kept them off-balance. Our hitting percentage was really high as well.”

Holy Cross also defeated San Antonio Christian 27-25, 25-17, 25-19 Oct. 2 at Holy Cross. Ibarra led with 19 digs and 17 kills as the Knights recorded their sixth-consecutive win.

Butcher distributed 12 assists. Flores served four aces. Gonzalez made four blocks.

The Knights are utilizing Butcher and Anna Zuniga as their setters in a 6-2 alignment.

“They were like the last piece of the puzzle,” Calderon said. “We’re confident with everybody, that we have the right combination we’ll need going forward.”