Slow starts have been a common theme in the last several outings for the Española Valley High School volleyball team.
The Lady Sundevils slept walked through another first set in a 15-point defeat as they hosted Moriarty High School Oct. 4, but then stormed back to win three straight sets to take down the Lady Pintos 3-1 (10-25, 25-17, 25-22, 27-25) to improve to 1-1 in District 2-4A play as of Monday (Española traveled to Los Alamos Tuesday, but those results were not available at Press time).
The victory also snapped a three-match losing streak dating back to the Rio Rancho VolleyBash bracket play Sept. 29 and the district-opening loss at Pojoaque Valley High School Oct. 2.
Inconsistent transition from defense to offense plagued Española in the first set as Moriarty’s aggressive serving set the tempo.
“We didn’t pass well in the first set and they served the heck out of us,” Española head coach Damon Salazar said about the sluggish first set. “We didn’t respond well to their serving and so they got us out of system and we got mopey-faced and you saw the results: no volleyball.”
Salazar compared the first set to a truck with no tires, saying “It was all over the place,” but in the following sets there was better passion, passing and communication.
“Our energy (changed),” outside hitter Dulce Maldonado said. “In their first (set), we were emotionless and going through the motions. In the second (set), we kinda snapped and said, ‘We’re not gonna go down the same way as Pojoaque.’ We started receiving and covering better and we started being loud again and it gives you that confidence to go up and swing again. We started hyping each other up when we got a kill and that gives you a lot of confidence and you’re like, ‘I wanna go do that again.’”
After Española finished off the second set , Salazar told his team to look up into the crowd and acknowledge the support from his father “grandpa” Fred Salazar —coming off double knee replacements — who was among the most vocal fans inside Edward Medina Gymnasium.
“You gotta give him some credit,” Damon Salazar — an animated and passionate man on the sidelines — said. “Sometimes they need a little extra motivation in some way and energy, I think that’s what this team needs from me. I’m willing to give them whatever they need. If I need to get in their heads and say, ‘Hey you guys need to pick it up and start moving’ then I’ll do that. If I need to be the nice little grandpa guy, then I guess I’ll be the nice little grandpa guy.”
As the match progressed, coach Salazar became more vocal and excited as his team became more efficient in transition and setters Anita DeAguero and Izabel Sena continuously set up hitters Chloe Fell and Maldonado for in-system kills.
“It’s so much fun,” Maldonado said when everything is clicking. “It’s like playing free because then you have confidence in your passer and your setter that it’ll be right there.”
Damon Salazar said it was Sena’s best-serving effort thus far in the season despite not feeling well, but he also was happy with the overall effort.
“I’m just glad that our big kids showed up today,” he said. “In the second third and fourth games, Chloe, Dulce, Meranda (Romero) and Anita and Kianna (Duran), and you know, Regina (Rodella), that key second game she played great. She’s a kid that’s trying to block big ol’ kids and she’s little but she jumps well and she’s giving everything she has to this team and I was just happy to see her have some hitting success.”
Hot starts in the second and third sets helped Española pull away, but Moriarty continued to close the gap. In the last five points of the third set, Andrea Perea and Maldonado had two double block efforts that stole the momentum. Fell was able to hit a ball straight into a double block of Moriarty that was not as effective as the ball managed to sneak past the defenders and drop down the line to end the set.
Española would have to work harder in the fourth set, which was closely contested throughout.
The Lady Sundevils led 24-22 after a kill by Fell, but she came right back the next sequence with a hitting error, which was followed up by a miscommunication receiving error between Romero and Maldonado to tie it at 24, as both players ran into each other trying to dig the ball after the Moriarty serve.
They would keep their composure and stay in system to award Maldonado with two consecutive kills to end the match and send the Lady Pintos packing.
“They just weren’t all in to it (at first) and I don’t understand it,” Damon Salazar said. “But God love em’, they shook it off and it was just one game, not two games (struggling). I honestly think when we get going on all cylinders it’s a heck of a deal.”
Pojoaque Valley stays hot
So far, so good for the Pojoaque Valley Elkettes volleyball team in District 4-2A play.
It took some time to get into rhythm, but Pojoaque would get its legs and ultimately roll to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-10) win in Taos to move to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in district play.
Next, the Elkettes host Moriarty Thursday (10/11) and then head to Los Alamos on Oct. 16. Both varsity matches are scheduled for a 6 p.m. first serve.
“It wasn’t that exciting of a match to be honest with you,” Pojoaque Valley head coach Joe Rodriguez said of the Taos win. “Every day we go into a match it’s always 0-0 and like I said before, this district is pretty rough. Every game, every win on the road is huge. Especially in three sets.”
One key element of the team’s near-perfect start to the campaign has been the incredible serving attack. They had only four errors in 108 attempts in a 5-set win over Española Valley on Oct. 2 and followed that up with big serves at Taos.
“I emphasize a lot of that in practice because it’s the one part of the game you can control,” Rodriguez said.
The next week of action could be a mind bender for the Elkettes and their fans as these next two matches could offer some big drama.
“Moriarty lost in four sets at Espanola Valley and then in five sets at home against Lost Alamos,” Rodriguez said. “You have to be ready to play everyone in this district.”