ST. MIKE’S REBUILDS AND CONTENDS
Defending state champions Lady Horsemen find their way with revamped roster
The game plan was so much simpler last year for the St. Michael’s Lady Horsemen — and much more difficult for opponents to defend.
That hasn’t been the case for most of this season for the reigning Class 3A champions. A season ago, St. Michael’s was loaded with talent and the means to utilize it — a wide variety of hitters, a savvy setter and a back row that was almost impenetrable on defense. After seeing eight seniors graduate from the program, the Lady Horsemen took a step back to the pack in almost every area but one. It’s just that the rest of the state was ready for it.
Foes have focused on trying to limit junior middle hitter and All-State performer Lily Barker’s impact on a match, while trying to take advantage of her absence when she entered the back row. The only way St. Michael’s could make teams pay for that strategy was to develop hitters who could take the pressure off the 6-foot-1 Barker, even when she was in the front row.
“It was pretty tough losing eight seniors,” Barker said. “We basically have a whole new varsity team, so that was tough to warm up to.”
Add to that a pair of new setters trying to replace five-year starter Miquela Martinez, an outside hitter who was pulling double duty and a practically new back row, and the Lady Horsemen were trying to rebuild and contend at the same time.
Their 9-6 record reflects that struggle, but St. Michael’s has won four of its last five matches and finds itself alone in second place in District 2-3A at 4-1. The lone district loss came at the hands of Las Vegas Robertson in four games Oct. 10, but St. Michael’s head coach Valerie Sandoval indicated much of that was a product of errors by the Lady Horsemen.
“We had 35 hitting errors and 10 missed serves,” Sandoval wrote in a text. “We didn’t play well.”
Still, there have been growing pains. After starting with an encouraging 3-1 mark, the Lady Horsemen struggled through a 2-4 slump as they ran through a gantlet of tough teams that included Albuquerque St. Pius X, Pojoaque Valley, Capital and Santa Fe High. It was clear that teams focused on making runs when Barker rotated to the back row, leaving St. Michael’s without a bona fide option up front. Senior outside hitter Molly Maestas sometimes took on the setting role that she shares with Jayla Martinez in that situation, which took away
from the potential firepower at the net.
“At the beginning of the season, a lot of [the new players] were shy and timid, and they didn’t know where they fit in yet,” said Maestas, one of three returning varsity players. “I feel like now, we have grown into a family and we have each other’s back.”
That was most apparent over the past two weeks. Junior middle hitter Amber Marbourg is averaging slightly less than eight kills per match, while Maestas is seeing more time at her more familiar spot up front and collecting 10 kills per match. Barker, meanwhile, continues to chug along, averaging 14.5 kills per contest, as teams are not as apt to throw a double or even a triple block at her and leave the rest of the court open.
Maestas said communication has been key in giving the setters clues on which hitters are in the best position to take advantage of the defense.
“When we talk it out, we know what we need to do,” Maestas said. “When I say, ‘The line is open,’ or ‘The cross[-court] is open,’ or when we talk it out, it really works well.”
Barker said there was a key moment right after taking fifth in the gold bracket of Tournament of Champions at Santa Fe High that led to better communication and chemistry. The team talked openly and frankly about all of the struggles to that point, but Barker said it wasn’t done in an accusatory tone.
If anything, it was a clearing of the air that helped get the team back on the same page. Even though the Lady Horsemen lost to Capital and Santa Fe High after that, there was a sense that they were going in the right direction instead of spinning their wheels.
“We opened each other up and we allowed ourselves to truly speak about what we wanted to change on the court,” Barker said. “The honesty that we expressed with each other really was the turning point. It’s tough criticizing your own teammates, but in the long run, it’s just going to make them better. It’s going to benefit them more in the end.”
The loss to Robertson led to more self-reflection, but the players realized they were as much their own worst enemy as any Lady Cardinal was.
St. Michael’s rebounded with a sweep of West Las Vegas on Tuesday, which kept it right on Robertson’s heels. The hope is that the Lady Horsemen can eliminate those errors in the Oct. 24 rematch and force a playoff for the top seed in the district tournament.
“It’s more difficult to step back and realize it was your mistakes that made you lose a match or a game,” Barker said. “But it’s something we can work on, which is really good.”
And there is still time left for St. Michael’s to make opponents rethink their game plan.