SFIS rolls to championship
Lady Braves repeat as winners of own tourney; looking ahead to test against Sandia Prep
It was a plethora of colors this weekend at the Pueblo Pavilion.
The team with maroon and yellow colors wore all black and won the gold bracket of the Santa Fe Indian School Pink Tournament. That’s a mouthful. It was much easier to watch it than speak it as the host SFIS volleyball team swept Santa Fe Prep in Saturday night’s championship match to capture its own tournament for the second straight year. The Lady Braves rolled to a 25-15, 25-14, 25-20 victory heading into a showdown with two-time defending Class 4A state champion Sandia Prep this week.
SFIS head coach Brian Gurule said his team has a glimmer of hope moving forward if — if being the million-dollar word here — his team can do one simple thing.
“Oh wow, I tell them the same thing every time we take the floor,” he said. “We need to be aggressive at the net, aggressive up front. If we can do that, we’re going to be tough to beat. It’s that easy.”
Or is it? The Lady Braves (6-4) have lost four times this season and have slipped to No. 8 in the most recent 4A poll, the one used by the New Mexico Activities Association to help seed the state tournament in November. Gurule thinks his club is top five.
“But that’s if we play like we did this weekend up front,” he
said. “Top five for sure.”
Gurule’s bigs were steady Saturday in wins over McCurdy (semifinals) and Prep (championship). In the title match, Danielle Jackson and Sierra Shoals combined for 38 kills while Marlena Yazzie had 23 assists.
Both seniors, Jackson and Shoals more than held their own while patrolling the net. They were frequently shoulder to shoulder when playing defense or within a few feet of one another while hitting.
“I don’t know if I’d say it’s hard for us to get after it like that, but coach does remind us to play like that a lot,” Jackson said. “I think we can be pretty good when we do.”
For her part, Shoals said the Lady Braves’ potential hinges on the players actually heeding the coach’s advice. Reaching that potential means stepping outside the comfort zone for some of her teammates.
“That’s not how some of us might really do it, but when we do, it does work,” she said. “It’s something we have to hear all the time.”
Another thing? Not getting complacent.
While the Blue Griffins (6-5) played well enough to make things interesting, they did fall behind by a comfortable margin in all three games. They were down 22-15 in the third game before scoring five straight points to force Gurule to call a timeout.
“That’s one of those things were we get ahead of some teams and kind of quit paying attention the way we need to,” Jackson said. “It’s just focus. If we get a lead, we need to learn how to hold it. We kind of let the other team back into it sometimes.”
The Lady Braves did finish the final game with three quick points, getting the clincher to end a match that took about an hour to play. The final of the silver (consolation) bracket were another story.
The match between Monte del Sol and Raton went all five games and lasted more than an hour longer than the gold bracket final on the other court. Raton rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win it. The Lady Tigers controlled the final portion of the fifth game, finishing on a 6-0 run to take a 15-7 win.
Gurule was quick to point out that SFIS has won this tournament two straight years. That’s no small feat considering the level of competition isn’t exactly weak.
“It’s just one of those things we want to do every year, to come in here and win this tournament,” he said.
Shoals agreed, saying it’s a badge of honor to defend the home court.
“It says a lot about us, I think,” she said. “We can be a good team if we stay together and do all the little things. … But winning this tournament at home is important for us.”
The date next week against Sandia Prep will be a big one for SFIS. The Lady Sundevils have been to the state finals three straight years, winning the last two. They have already lost twice this season, matching their loss total from the previous two years combined.
“Playing them is always a big test,” Gurule said. “They’re big and always really good, but it’s one of those things that will show us where we are right now.”
Where the Lady Braves are at the moment is sitting in the glow of a colorful win right in their own backyard.