SFHS falls, but looking to future
Demonettes eliminated in straight sets by Las Cruces
RIO RANCHO — It was the end of a career for Alyssa Sandoval and the three other seniors on the Santa Fe High volleyball roster.
But it was just the beginning of the journey for the Demonettes.
Sandoval, the anchor of the Santa Fe High back row at libero, helped the program break through barriers that stood for quite some time. The Demonettes made it to the Class 5A State Tournament for the first time in 13 years, and they won their first tournament match in 22 Novembers.
Any more breakthroughs will have to come from a different group of seniors, though, as Santa Fe High saw its season end with a 25-23, 25-17, 25-16 loss at the hands of the third-seeded Las Cruces Lady Bulldogs in a 5A quarterfinal in the Santa Ana Star Center on Friday. As heartbreaking as it was for Sandoval, Taliyah Balladares, Ciara Morgan and Tanisha Ortiz to see their Demonettes careers end, Sandoval said they can take heart in that they helped chart the program’s course.
“We’ve done amazing things this year,” Sandoval said. “This team’s going to go far next year.”
She can take heart in the play of junior Salome Romp and sophomore Laila Bernardino, who each had seven kills to lead a Demonettes hitting attack that never quite got into rhythm against the equally strong-hitting Lady Bulldogs. There is junior Ainsley ReynoldsSmith, who had five kills and four blocks as she blossomed over the season into a threat that opposing teams had to account for. And junior Courtney Brookover matured into a solid setter who had 33 assists.
“For our girls, this was the biggest stage they’ve played,” Santa Fe High head coach Josie Adams said. “There were some nerves and some of the points we won [Thursday] we would have lost today.”
That was especially true in Game 1 — the best chance the ninth-seeded Demonettes (16-8) had at a win. After Bernardino’s kill tied the score at 22-all, Las Cruces (20-3) dug deep into its lineup of hitters. Jocelyn Massey had a kill to give the Lady Bulldogs a 23-22 lead, then Christina Aguayo followed with another kill that shot in between a hole in the back row for a 24-22 edge.
Santa Fe High didn’t take a lead until early in Game 3 when Brookover recorded another block to make the score 2-0. Las Cruces, though, scored seven of the next eight points and never looked back.
“We have a whole bunch of 10th-graders who have never played at this level, or even club [volleyball],” Adams said. “It’s admirable that they are playing at a very high level. It’s exciting. I think we’re fine.”
The only downside is that the back row trio of Sandoval, Ortiz and Balladares will not return, but Adams said she is confident of the replacements she has at the junior varsity level. And Adams is familiar with the path she is helping the Demonettes blaze.
When she took over at St. Michael’s in 2015, Adams got the Lady Horsemen to the state semifinals in her second year before moving on to Santa Fe High. That group will play for a state title against Albuquerque Sandia Prep on Saturday.
“Next year is gonna be like, ‘OK, we’ve handled this already,’ ” Adams said. “And they handled all of this [atmosphere] very well. We’re really proud of this program and proud of this team.”