Down went the defending district champions.

The Fort Stockton volleyball program opened up district play with an upset victory over defending 4A District 2 champion Greenwood on Sept. 24 in straight sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-23).

“To beat a team that was the champion of our district a season ago, is just amazing. I can’t even put into words how happy we (the coaching staff) are for the girls. It was a rough transition last year, but this year we are firing on all cylinders,” Fort Stockton head coach Gabrielle Harral said.

Senior Angie Aguirre and junior Sophia Hernandez led the offensive surge with 10 kills each. Following the dynamic duo was junior Amaya Urias with seven kills and three blocks. Sophomore Mia Garcia added two blocks, while Hernandez tallied one.

Eliana Mata commanded her offense with 25 assists and Alyssa Rangel tallied nine assists.

Aryanna Gonzalez held down her libero spot with a team-best 20 digs.

Round 2: Pecos gets best of Fort Stockton

The Prowlers dropped their second district game to Pecos in a rematch from their first meeting at the Monahans tourney on Aug. 13 – a contest that also resulted in a Lady Eagles victory.

The Prowlers have grown since that meeting according to the coaching staff, but the Prowlers were unable to secure a victory and were defeated in four sets (25-21, 25-16, 17-25, 25-16).

Gonzalez dominated on defense with 34 digs and two service aces.

Mata tallied 20 assists, three aces and two blocks. Amaya Urias led the offense with nine kills followed by Angie Aguirre (7) and Mia Garcia (6).

Urias accumulated a team-best four blocks while Garcia added three.

The Prowlers will travel to Seminole to take on the Maidens on Saturday, Oct. 1. Games are set to take place with both sub-varsity squads competing at 11 a.m. and varsity taking the court at noon.