Published 10/23/08
The volleyball season has reached the midpoint of district competition, and the Pojoaque High School Elkettes have emerged as the top team in District 2AAA with an undefeated record. Pojoaque is ranked first in the statewide Class AAA coach’s poll and hasn’t lost to a Class AAA team yet.
The Elkettes’ only two losses came at the hands of bigger Class AAAA teams.
Pojoaque’s volleyball fortunes turned around when coach Brian Ainsworth took over in 2004. Pojoaque had been 4-19 the year before. A year later, they were playing for a state title. In 2006, they won the Class AAA state championship.
The strength of this year’s Pojoaque team is that they have no weakness. They hit well, pass well, dig well and serve well. They have a varied attack that makes it hard to defend against them.
Until this year, however, the Elkettes couldn’t beat the Española Valley Sundevils. With Sam Estrada at the helm, Española seemed to have Pojoaque’s number.
Estrada resigned in April, saying he needed a rest. It appears that all he needed was a break from commuting from Santa Fe. When Santa Fe High School came knocking at his door, Estrada answered and took over the Demons’ program. He still appears to have the touch. After beginning the season with six straight losses, the Demons have won six of their last eight games and are 3-2 in District 2AAAAA.
Española misses Estrada. The Sundevils are 4-13 so far this season and just 2-3 in district play. That’s after going 23-1 in district play during the last three regular seasons. In their most recent match Oct. 18, the Sundevils lost 3-0 to Capital High School. In the second game of that match, Española blew a 20-8 lead.
This team has talent, but they haven’t gelled under new coach Garry Maskaly. With just three more games left in the regular season, their only hope of making the state tournament will be to win the District 2AAAA tournament. Even that may be too little, too late.
Another team that isn’t likely to make postseason play is the McCurdy Bobcats. McCurdy had a dramatic turnaround last season under coach Steve Long, improving from a 4-16 season in 2006 to a 17-6 record and a District 3AA championship. It was beginning to look like McCurdy would return to the glory days of the 1990s, when Ainsworth was their coach and the Bobcats had a 94-game winning streak in district play.
This year, McCurdy is just 8-8 and 2-2 in district. Both of their victories in district play have been over Mesa Vista, who is just 3-12 on the season. Questa and Peñasco appear to be the dominant teams in District 3AA this season. As with the Sundevils, the Bobcats’ only hope of salvaging their season will be in the district tournament.
This team, like the Sundevils, just has not gelled.
The sleeper team may be up in District 2AA, where the Dulce Hawks look like they’re going to grab the runner-up spot behind powerhouse Navajo Prep. It’s been some time since the Hawks have made it to state in volleyball.
And don’t count out Coronado just yet. The Leopards, defending District 2AA champions, could pull off an upset in the district tournament.
In Class AA, the old rules still apply when it comes to advancing to the state tournament. Only the district champion and runner-up advance to postseason play.
In Class AAA-AAAAA, the only team with an automatic berth in the state tournament is the regular season district champion. The other teams are selected by committee.