Cibola stays in control in District 1-5A
No. 5 Cougars get a key win over fourth-ranked Hawks on senior night
Volcano Vista won the first round. And the second round.
Cibola’s volleyball team won the most important round.
The fifth-ranked Cougars on Tuesday night cemented their hold on first place in District 1-5A, overtaking No. 4-ranked Volcano Vista, serving and hitting their way to a four-set victory on Cibola’s senior night.
The scores were 18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-16.
“Tonight it was about sealing first place,” Cibola coach Christina Norton said. “And we sealed it.”
Cibola (12-4, 5-1 in 1-5A) didn’t technically clinch anything yet, but the Cougars control things, and will mathematically secure first place in the regular season with victories in their final two matches against Atrisco Heritage and Rio Rancho. Every other team in the district has at least two losses.
The Cougars excelled from the line Tuesday night with 17 aces.
“I’ve never seen better serving from us. That was incredible,” senior outside hitter Emma White said.
The Hawks (11-4, 3-2) had beaten Cibola at the metro tournament, and again in their first district encounter on Oct. 3.
And Volcano Vista had the early momentum Tuesday, coming from behind to take the opening set.
“I challenged them to be better,” Norton said of her message to the team between sets.
It was White, and several timely blocks, that sparked Cibola to a win in the second set. White delivered kills in the middle of the set, twice stopping Volcano Vista runs. At 16-all, White had two kills in three points, sandwiched around a block of the Hawks’ Olivia Dixson, to stake Cibola to a 19-16 lead.
Cibola’s superior serving could be encapsulated in the start of the third set.
Deryn Cain, the Cougars’ defensive specialist, had three straight aces, part of a 5-0 run. Sophia Garcia later added two aces in a 4-0 run, and Jade Martinez and Jayden Baldonado added aces near the end of the set. Fittingly, it was an ace by Baldonado that closed out that pivotal third set.
“When we serve aggressively and in bounds, there’s not a lot of teams that can touch us,” Norton said.
Aside from the serving, Cibola was the more versatile team at net, with White, Anna Huggins, Angelina Oliver and Abby Carlsen all doing fine work up front for the Cougars.
Asked what was different Tuesday than the two previous losses to the Hawks, Huggins said: “It was our energy, honestly. When we have no energy, it shows. But tonight we did not lose our energy.”
If Cibola wins its final two matches, the Cougars will be the top seed for the upcoming district tournament. And this victory was an emotional boost against their biggest rival.
“This was our last time to show them that we could (beat them),” White said.
The Hawks are battling with Cleveland and Rio Rancho for the second seed in 1-5A.