Los Alamos wins district; Elkettes in 2nd
Errors have made and broken the Pojoaque Valley volleyball team this season.
On Thursday night, with the District 2-4A title on the line, hitting and untimely serving errors proved to be the difference as Los Alamos secured the district regular season championship in a thrilling 21-25, 27-25, 25-23, 12-25, 15-9 win over the Elkettes in Ben Luján Gymnasium.
The Lady Hilltoppers (12-8 overall) finished the 2-4A season with a 7-1 record and have won nine of their last 10 matches. Pojoaque (17-3) falls to second place at 6-2 and will play host to the district semifinal next week.
Elkettes head coach Joe Rodriguez pointed to 22 hitting errors out of 17 hitting attempts as well as a pair of missed serves in Games 2 and 3 that allowed Los Alamos to walk away with close wins.
“We had six serving errors, but the majority of them were in the second and third sets,” Rodriguez said. “We had two of our better servers put their first serve into the net. We got too dependent on those.”
In the fifth game, Pojoaque hitters became too timid against the bigger Lady Hilltoppers block. “We got too tip happy,” Rodriguez said. Adrianna Quintana had 33 assists to lead the Elkettes’ hitting attack, while Alyssa Rodriguez had 46 digs.
SANTA FE HIGH 3, ABQ. RIO GRANDE 0
The Demonettes finished the 5-5A season with an 8-2 mark as they rolled to a 25-11, 25-23, 25-13 win in Albuquerque.
Santa Fe High will play host to the district semifinal Nov. 9 in Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium.
Libero Alyssa Sandoval missed the match for the Demonettes (14-6) because of sickness, so Taliyah Balladares slipped into her spot and Ivy St. Clair played in the back row.
“She played great,” Santa Fe High head coach Josie Adams wrote in a text message. “Great team effort!”
Slaome Romp had a team-high 20 kills, while Laila Bernardino added eight and the duo of Ainsley Reynolds-Smith and Jorja Chambers each had six. Courtney Brookover dished out 33 assists.
ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 3, TAOS 1
The Lady Sundevils played like it had third place in 2-4A sewn up (which it did), but it was a sloppy performance in a 21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 win in Otero Gymnasium.
Setter Izabel Sena was one of the few highlights for Española (14-6, 5-3), as she handed out 26 assists, had 11 digs and served four aces. Dulce Maldonado had a team-high 16 kills and Chloe Fell added 13 and had 11 digs. Kianna Duran got significant playing time in the middle and had seven kills and a pair of blocks.
The Lady Sundevils will play the Taos-Moriarty winner in the 2-4A quarterfinal next week.
SANTA FE PREP 3, RATON 1
It took a while for the road-weary Blue Griffins to get into a rhythm in their 2-3A finale at Raton, but it was how they finished Game 2 that keyed a 26-24, 17-25, 25-15, 25-17 win.
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 10-1 lead right off the bat, and Prep head coach Kiran Bhakta set the tone for the rest of the match during a timeout.
“I told the girls to not stop fighting and keep pushing as much as you can and get the momentum changed,” Bhakta said. “So, we did that, and, in the third game, we went on a big run.”
Prep’s much-maligned passing was more consistent this time, and it allowed outside hitters Daisy Cunningham and Raelyn Gonzales to swing away at the Raton block.
“They were putting the ball down,” Bhakta said. “They also made some smart hits, with roll shotting and tipping.”
Prep (7-13, 4-6) finished in fourth place in the district.
DESERT ACADEMY 3, MONTE DEL SOL 1
While the Lady Wildcats (11-8) completed their run through 2-2A with a 6-0 mark, the Lady Dragons had something to celebrate in Desert Academy’s 25-14, 25-11, 20-25, 25-14 win in the American Indian Arts Institute fitness center.
“We hadn’t taken a game off of Desert this year, so it was nice to get a game off of them,” Monte del Sol head coach Chela Butler said.
Emi Fukuda led the Lady Dragons’ hitting attack with 10 kills, while Jame Lujan added seven. Defensively, Daisy Ortiz had 20 digs for Monte del Sol (4-14), which finished in third place in the district and takes on Tierra Encantada in the opening round of the district tournament next week.