Los Alamos clubs Roswell, eyes Academy.

Wanting something can be detrimental to a team. The Capital volleyball team went into its District 2-5A semifinal against Los Alamos knowing it was just one win away from playing for the district tournament title — something the program hasn’t done in seven years. That thought was almost too much for some Lady Jaguars to bear, and it showed early on.

But the veteran ball club regained its composure and swept the Lady Hilltoppers 25-20, 25-11, 25-22 in Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium to advance to the 2-5A championship at Albuquerque Academy at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Capital head coach Max Vargas saw that some of his players were nervous during Game 1, and he sat down a couple of them to calm their nerves.

“They came out a little jittery and made some minor errors,” Vargas said. “A couple of girls, I had to switch out. They were saying, ‘I’m so nervous!’ They didn’t want to make mistakes, but they overcame their jitters and did very well.”

What the Lady Jaguars (11-10) did well was spread out its hitting attack. Gabby Ornelas, Ishara Sorensen and Sofia Garcia each had seven kills to lead the team. Ornelas also was strong at the net on defense, recording five blocks, and Sorensen added four.

Maya Wero had 24 assists, and Mikayla Baca managed 20 digs.

Capital heads into its matchup against the Lady Chargers with wins in five of its last six matches — its only loss was in five games to the district’s top seed on Oct. 25.

ST. MICHAEL’S 3, POJOAQUE VALLEY 0

The Lady Horsemen made it a formality in the District 2-4A semifinal in Perez-Shelley Gymnasium, sweeping the Elkettes 25-16, 25-12, 25-11.

St. Michael’s (16-5) takes on Las Vegas Robertson on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Michael Marr Gymnasium for the district tournament title.

It was another solid all-around performance for the Lady Horsemen, as Miquela Martinez handed out 48 assists on the night. Mikayla Bohlman had 13 kills, while Lily Barker added 12, Molly Maestas nine and Sierra Moya eight.

Darian Ortiz had 24 digs to lead the back row, and Alyssa Pincheira-Sandoval added 19.

“We played with excellent team unity and communication,” St. Michael’s head coach Valerie Sandoval wrote in an email. “We have had a couple of great weeks of practice and my team is very focused.”

Pojoaque fell to 9-11.