It was a night of opportunities.
For Pojoaque volleyball coach Brian Ainsworth, it was an opportunity to thank the crowd of over 1,000 for buying out all of the pink T-shirts that were sold out before the District 2AAA volleyball match between Pojoaque and St. Michaels Oct. 29 in Pojoaque. The crowd had come out to show its support for Brian’s wife, assistant coach Melissa Ainsworth, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The $7,400 in proceeds from the game and from the sale of the $10 T-shirts would be donated for cancer research to the University of New Mexico Cancer Center and the Española Cancer Fund, he said.
“I can’t say, ‘Thank you’ enough,’” Brian Ainsworth said. “Hopefully, we made a difference in somebody’s effort to fight this disease.”
Also, it was a chance for Brian Ainsworth to praise his senior setter Marissa Romero, who dished out 43 assists in the match. Pojoaque kept its undefeated District 2AAA record intact with a 25-17, 25-14, 28-26 victory over the Horsemen.
“We run a very complex system and the opportunities she gives our hitters is just remarkable,” Ainsworth said. “She’s had a phenomenal year.”
Romero is in her second season as starting setter for the Elkettes.
“I pretty much have to find opportunities for our hitters,” Romero said. “I read the middle block. If it stays, I go outside, if it moves, I go to the middle.”
The Horsemen had an opportunity to find out how well they can play and a chance to be the second District 2AAA team to win a game against the Elkettes. After being dominated in the first and second games, St. Michaels fought Pojoaque tooth and nail in the third game.
The Elkettes held a 21-20 lead when the Horsemen rallied behind the hitting of middle blocker Aimee Geyer and the serving of Amber Tassel. A pair of Geyer kills gave the lead back to St. Michaels and an ace serve by Tassel gave the Horsemen a 24-21 lead and a point away from victory.
Tassel sent her next serve into the net and Pojoaque stayed alive. A kill by Kira Trujillo and another by Dionna Montoya tied the score. Geyer slammed a rocket that looked like it would give the lead back to St. Michaels, but libero Miquela Lovato somehow dug the ball back to Romero, who set Trujillo up for a kill that gave Pojoaque a 25-24 lead.
The Horsemen battled back to tie the game, then fought off another game point to tie the score at 26-26. Facing it’s third match point trailing 26-27, the Horsemen went for a kill by Nicole Murphy. Pojoaque’s Liz Gomez put up a stonewall at the net, blocking Murphy’s kill and sending it down to the floor on St. Michaels’ side to give Pojoaque a 28-26 victory. It was Gomez’s seventh block-kill of the match.
“We definitely need to be challenged like that because we’re always looking for things to work on,” Ainsworth said. “(St. Michaels) exposed our defense from the middle.”
Pojoaque concluded its regular season Oct. 31 by sweeping Raton in three sets. The Elkettes improved to 19-1 on the season and 10-0 in District 2AAA.
With the exception of a 3-1 victory Oct. 17 over Robertson, the Elkettes have swept their district opponents 3-0 in their matches.
The Elkettes will host the district championship game Saturday against a team to be determined.
“I’m curious to see who we’re going to face,” Romero said. “I’m definitely excited.”