Santa Fe Prep serve sends it to a victory
It was harder for Santa Fe Prep to try and score the old-fashioned way against the Lady Lynx, because they picked up a lot of Prep hits and produced extended rallies in the hopes of capitalizing on errors.
RIO RANCHO — Serving is a way of life for the Santa Fe Prep Blue Griffins.
It has been one of the primary staples of the volleyball program under head coach Kiran Bhakta, and Thursday underscored his reasons. Facing a scrappy, defensive-minded Rehoboth Christian squad in the opening round of the Class 3A State Tournament at Rio Rancho High School, Prep needed to find ways to make scoring points easier — not that the Lady Lynx made it easy at all — and the service line was an easy way of doing just that.
It seemed that just about every Blue Griffin played an important role in contributing to the service game as they outlasted Rehoboth 22-25, 25-12, 25-13, 25-16 to advance to the 3A quarterfinals against second-seeded Santa Rosa in the Santa Ana Star Center on Friday morning at 11:30 a.m.
Whether it was Daisy Cunningham serving up three aces during a 10-point run on her serve in Game 2, freshman Raelyn Gonzales and Rafaela Marks combining for 11 service points during an 11-2 run in Game 3 or Marks serving out the match in Game 4 with four straight, No. 8 Prep (14-9) could always turn to its serve to build momentum.
“That’s been our key all season, and we’re going to need it again [on Friday],” Bhakta said. “We’ll need it in whatever the next phase is, so that we can get some easy points.”
It was harder to try and score the old-fashioned way against the Lady Lynx, because they picked up a lot of Prep hits and produced extended rallies in the hopes of capitalizing on errors. It worked in Game 1, as they built a 14-6 lead in part on Blue Griffins hitting and passing errors, while sprinkling in some hits of their own.
When Mikaela Secatero slipped a tip over the Prep block for a kill, Rehoboth (19-3) had is largest lead of the night. Even though Prep rallied behind the hitting of Gonzales, Cunningham and Samantha Wilson (two kills each), the Lady Lynx held off the charge.
When Cunningham stepped up to the service line in Game 2, Rehoboth was nipping at Prep’s heels, trailing by just 9-8. Over her next 10 serves, the Lady Lynx struggled to run its offense, and Cunningham ripped off three aces during a four-point stretch that gave Prep a 20-8 lead by that point.
“It’s an easy way to get points,” Cunningham said. “Kiran always says, ‘Keep the server serving,’ so that makes our defense work a lot better because we have to try a lot harder to keep that one server going.”
It worked in the next game with the two freshmen, as Gonzales served three straight points before giving up serve. After a Cunningham kill got Prep the serve back, Marks reeled off eight straight points with three aces during the spurt. Also chipping in was senior Selma Flint, who a pair of kills at the end of the run to make her presence felt.
Cunningham also did her part at the net, recording 10 kills on the night. She ended the night with a kill that deflected off the Rehoboth block and found an empty middle of the court for the match winner.
NO. 10 DESERT ACADEMY 3, NO. 12 CAPITAN 0
Two was better than three for the Lady Wildcats.
The difference between taking second place in Pool C and third was the difference between sweeping the Lady Tigers 25-13, 25-14, 25-18, in the opening round at Rio Rancho Cleveland and facing a familiar foe. Had Desert Academy fallen to third, it would have been the second time in four years it would have played Santa Fe Prep at the state tournament.
The Lady Wildcats (11-10) play No. 4 Estancia in a quarterfinal.
Natalie Passalacqua said playing the Blue Griffins wouldn’t have been a problem. She’d rather do it later in the tournament. Say, maybe the 3A championship?
She added that pool play can also expose some teams who might not be as good as its seed suggest. It happened last year when the Lady Wildcats won Pool B, beating No. 2 Dulce in the process. This time, it was No. 6 Rehoboth.
“Seeds can be misplaced and what not, depending on the team and their schedule,” Passalacqua said. “That was a big relief getting in as that two seed.”
CLASS 2A NO. 6 ESCALANTE 3, NO. 12 PEÑASCO 1
Just when it appeared the Lady Panthers had Escalante’s number, the Lady Lobos (16-6) found a way to respond and pulled out a 23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 win in the 2A first round at Rio Rancho. Peñasco had won the last two meetings, including the District 5-2A championship that propelled it into the state tournament.
Escalante head coach Tara Terrazas-Martinez said playing the Lady Panthers so many times in the last three weeks can be challenging from a coaching and mental perspective.
“It puts that little hint of fear in your mind that they beat us, and they beat us again,” Terrazas-Martinez said. “But, you also know them.”
Peñasco (9-15) tried to extend the match to a fifth game, getting within 15-13 before Escalante finished with a 10-3 flurry.
The Lady Lobos play No. 4 Mesilla Valley at 8 a.m. in The Santa Ana Star Center.
CLASS 1A NO. 6 CORONADO 3, NO. 12 CIMARRON 2
The Lady Leopards (19-3) received a scare from the Lady Rams, but held on for a 25-17, 20-25, 19-25, 25-14, 15-11. Coronado plays No. 4 Des Moines at 1:15 p.m. at Rio Rancho Cleveland in the quarterfinals.
Santa Fe Waldorf, the No. 3 seed, won Pool C and earned a bye into the quarterfinals, where it will play No. 5 Quemado. The Lady Eagles beat Springer 23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 15-8 in the first round.