Rolling Prep sweeps Monte del Sol, moves on to Dulce
Santa Fe Prep wanted to give its offense a chance. So the past few weeks were dedicated toward developing a defense that never rested.
It worked almost perfectly Wednesday night, as an almost impenetrable defense kept digging and giving opportunity after opportunity to its hitters. The result was a 25-12, 25-13, 25-18 sweep of Monte del Sol in the semifinal of the District 2-3A Tournament in Prep Gymnasium.
Prep, the second seed in the tournament, heads to Dulce to take on the No. 1 Dulce Lady Hawks for an automatic bid in next week’s Class 3A State Tournament. The district champion and the tournament champion, if it is a different team, earn automatic byes.
The Blue Griffins, with their fourth straight win, continued its best stretch of volleyball since taking five of six matches in late September. How impressive has this run been? Since losing to Dulce on Oct. 17, Prep (13-8) has not dropped a game since then — a run of 12 games that includes a sweep of the Lady Hawks in Dulce last week.
“Going up to Dulce last weekend and knowing we can play well in that gym is huge,” senior libero Teslin Ishee said. “Obviously the drive is hard; three hours up and six hours round-trip, but knowing we can play well there is huge.”
Ishee highlighted a defensive effort that saw the Blue Griffins record 55 digs against a game, but struggling, Lady Dragons team that lost four of its last six. Monte del Sol struggled to run its offense efficiently for most of the first two games, and when it did, Prep closed any potential holes that briefly emerged. Ishee had 22 digs, while Indian Cunningham had 13.
Prep head coach Kiran Bhakta was overjoyed to see his players fly around the court to pick up Lady Dragons hits.
“We have never seen them dive over people and doing all of this,” Bhakta said. “Teslin, I know she always does that, but the rest of them? But that’s what we’re playing for: To keep it out of the [New Mexico Activities Association’s selection and seeding] committee’s hand.”
Last year, Prep struggled for most of the season but reached the district championship, only to lose to Dulce. The Blue Griffins missed out on the state tournament for the first time in six years, but used that snub to motivate themselves for this run.
That was never more clear than in Game 3, as Prep had to respond to the Lady Dragons’ renewed intensity that had been lacking for most of the past two weeks to build a 10-6 lead. But a long rally that saw both sides dig and chase down errant balls came to an end when Sydney Crosby sent a tip hit toward the left sideline. The Lady Dragons allowed it to drop, but it hit a sliver of white for a crucial point.
Bhakta said Crosby and fellow senior Selma Flint have been interchangeable in the lineup, and he often went with the hitter who had the hot hand. This time, it was Crosby who had her moment.
“That second game, Sidney was getting the sets and she got some kills for us,” Bhakta said. “We decided to keep her in.”
Not to be overlooked was Prep’s serving. It played an important role in keep Monte del Sol (10-12) on its heels offensively. Ishee and senior Samantha Wilson served the Blue Griffins to a 9-1 lead in the opening game, and Wilson served seven straight points in Game 3 that gave Prep a 20-15 lead when Wilson hammered a kill near the endline. She finished the night with 10 kills, eight digs and a pair of aces.
But Ishee had the best serving performance of the night in Game 2. She served 14 straight points to erase an early 2-0 deficit and collected seven aces in that span. She served five aces in a six-point stretch for a 10-2 lead, and the Blue Griffins never looked back after that.
“Serving is one of strongest parts of our game this season,” Ishee said. “We can miss a few here and there, but as long as we’re aggressive, we’re OK with it. Kiran calls serves for all of us, so we work on our placement. We work on the hard-flow serves — the line drives that hits the seam. It makes the game easier to play if we get more free balls.”