Published Oct 16, 2008
It was a must-win game for the Pojoaque Elkettes at the 2005 Class AAA state volleyball tournament. The Santa Fe Indian School Lady Braves were a point away from winning the fourth game of the quarterfinal match, and eighth grader Miquela Lovato was at the service line for the Elkettes.
An Indian School victory would force a fifth game with the wind at the Braves’ backs. One miscue at the service line, and the Braves would win.
“I was so scared,” Lovato’s mother Teresa Lovato said. “That’s a lot of pressure for a 13-year-old.”
The concerned mother need not have worried. Miquela Lovato never left the service line, helping the Elkettes score seven unanswered points to take the victory 26-24 and advance to the semifinals.
“It’s all about the toss,” Miquela Lovato said recently. “You always have to be focused.”
Her older sister Monica Lovato, then a sophomore, was also a member of the 2005 team. She played defensive specialist and backup setter.
Although the Elkettes lost that year’s championship game to Portales, Pojoaque won a state title the following year with both sisters on the team. Monica Lovato still remembers the surreal feeling of winning at state.
“I don’t even know how to explain the feeling,” she said. “I wear my ring every day.”
Although Monica now attends Taft College in California, where she plays softball, there are still two Lovato sisters on Pojoaque’s 2008 varsity volleyball team. Freshman Amber Lovato is a defensive specialist. She’s no slouch at the service line, either, coming in off the bench to serve during a rotation. “Just being on the varsity is an honor,” Amber Lovato said. “All I really think about is my toss because wherever my toss is, that’s where I’m going to hit it.”
The beneficiary of all this Lovato volleyball talent is Pojoaque coach Brian Ainsworth, who has been with the Elkettes since 2004.
“They all work real hard and are committed to winning,” Ainsworth said. “All three have been easy to coach.”
Miquela Lovato, now a junior, is the Elkettes’ starting libero, a defensive specialist who serves, passes to the setter and tries to dig the kills pounded at her by the opposing team’s hitters. Ainsworth doesn’t hesitate to call her the best in the state, regardless of the size of the school.
“I like digging,” Miquela said.
Amber Lovato is still learning the intricacies of passing, according to Ainsworth. She studies how other defensive specialists pass the ball, focusing on one player in particular.
“They all really help me, but especially my sister,” Amber Lovato said. “Miquela’s great at passing.”
Although she initially attended Taft to play catcher on the Cougars’ softball team, Monica Lovato has accomplished the rare feat of playing two sports at the collegiate level. She went out for the Cougars’ volleyball team and landed the position as starting libero and backup setter.
“I figured I might as well play two sports and I called the coach to see if I could play,” she said. “I love it. The hitters are a lot bigger and a lot smarter.”
The Lovato sisters credit their father, Anthony Lovato, with instilling a competitive spirit in them. He coached all three sisters in elementary school, primarily in basketball.
“My dad pushed us a lot,” Miquela Lovato said. “I think we pushed each other the most.”
Monica Lovato said growing up in that environment made her and her sisters successful athletes.
“We grew up to be competitive,” she said. “That’s what made us better, having each other to compete with.”
The three sisters all played together on Pojoaque’s 2008 softball team. Monica was catcher, Miquela played shortstop and Amber started at second base.
There may be another Lovato athlete on the way — Analisa Lovato, the youngest of Anthony and Teresa’s daughters at eight years old.
“She seems like she’s going to take after her sisters,” Teresa Lovato said.
Despite the strain of keeping up with their daughters, Teresa said she and her husband wouldn’t trade a moment.
“We love it,” Teresa Lovato said. “We support them in everything they do.”