Blue Griffins’ passing helps sweep Escalante

Kiran Bhakta wants Santa Fe Prep to be versatile on the volleyball court.

The Blue Griffins showed flashes of it Saturday night, and it was more than enough to produce a 25-20, 25-11, 25-17 win over Escalante in their season opener in Prep Gymnasium. Bhakta, Prep’s head coach, said he has worked at making all of his players capable of filling in at any spot over the past couple of years, and he feels the process is working.

He just had to look at Prep’s passing to see it come to fruition. “A good indicator for us is when we pass well, we can run a variety of sets from any position,” Bhakta said. “We did that really well [on Saturday].”

Prep got off to a slow start, which allowed the Lady Lobos to hang around before Prep’s size at the net proved to be too much to withstand. Game 2 saw freshman outside hitter Raelyn Gonzales demonstrate an improved serve, as she scored nine straight points off of it to break a 4-all tie.

Freshman Rafaella Marks and seniors Samantha Wilson and Teslin Ishee took over at the service line in the final game and the Blue Griffins were never threatened.

Bhakta praised the play of Gonzales, who played sand volleyball in Albuquerque during the summer. He said it helped her develop her hitting ability as well as her overall technique.

“Experience is half the battle,” Bhakta said. “Playing in the sand takes different technique, so she learned different shots. It’s something I definitely encourage. I grew up playing volleyball outdoors and in the sand, and it made my indoor game better.”

In junior varsity action, Escalante beat Santa Fe Prep 25-15, 25-15.

BOYS SOCCER EAST MOUNTAIN 3, SANTA FE PREP 2 (OT)

If Prep head coach Hersch Wilson could have set fire to East Mountain’s bandbox of a home field at Sandia Park after another draining overtime match — the Blue Griffins have yet to finish a match in regulation — he would have. “I thought about it,” Wilson said. For the third time in the past four years, Prep (0-1-2) limped on the bus on the wrong end of the score. This one was settled by Timberwolves striker J.J. Porter, who fired a long-range rocket into the back of the net in the 5th minute of overtime for the golden goal.

Trevor Wilson scored twice, giving the Blue Griffins leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but East Mountain (2-2) took advantage of a Dante Zanetic goal off a penalty-shot deflection save by Prep goal Victor Rios and a Jose Perea score in a scrum in front of the goal to tie the score each time.

Wilson said the small field takes away his team’s best asset — possession of the ball.

“All credit to East Mountain because they stayed in the game and they pressured us,” Wilson said. “It’s hard for us to control the ball on that field. The way that looks is that you lose the ball a lot and you don’t get a lot of opportunities [to score].”

All of that sets up a Tuesday matchup with Albuquerque Hope Christian, the top-ranked team in 1A/4A, in Albuquerque.