Nicole Romero could barely write the lineup sheets between sets.
The Española Valley High School volleyball coach said she was shaking with nerves during the constant tension of the team’s first two matches. Each seemed to constantly be as close as possible.
“It’s the thrill of coaching,” Romero said. “It’s the thrill of volleyball. Of course it’s frustrating, but they keep me going.”
The Sundevils split two five-set matches to start off their season. Against Laguna-Acoma on the road Aug. 17, Española dropped the fifth set in the loss after coming from behind in the match. But they came back to defeat Kirtland Central Aug. 21, 3-2, in a five-set nail-biter. In both matches, however, the Sundevils seemed to underperform their talent level.
“The things that we need to work on aren’t a volleyball problem,” Romero said. “It’s a mental problem.”
“It’s a little tough right now,” said senior Brandy Gurule. “But I think with a lot of communication, we’ll get to where we want to be.”
Against Laguna-Acoma, Española struggled despite taking early leads in every set. But they failed to hold on in the first and second sets, allowing deep runs as the Broncos took a 2-0 lead. Española stayed strong to take sets three and four to even the match.
“I asked the girls to make a promise,” Romero said. “And that promise was to not give up on me if I didn’t give up on them.”
The Sundevils led 9-8 in the fifth set before letting up six straight points, dropping the set 15-10.
The opposite was true against Kirtland Central, where Española was seemingly behind at the start of every set. Despite a balanced offense – eight different Sundevils recorded a kill in just the first set – the defense often struggled or attackers missed easy shots.
Romero and players stressed the impact of communication and team bonding, with miscommunication often a problem leading to missed points. Pregame drills focused heavily on those issues.
But almost every set was close the whole way, barring the third set where Española trailed heavily from early in the set. In the fourth set, a 14-6 lead slipped away to 15-15, then the Sundevils won five straight before losing five straight. But they ultimately rallied to take the set after staving off match point.
In the fifth set, the Broncos won the first two points, but the Lady Sundevils won five straight. Leading 9-6, Española lost four straight points, and had to scrape out the end of the match, ending the set winning four of the last five points.
“We have a lot of confidence,” said senior libero Alexis DeVargas. “We pick ourselves up when we’re getting down.”
Romero said she tried to pull back as a coach during the second match, letting the team solve problems on their own to not intimidate or confuse them.
The service game was strong for the Sundevils, who had 13 service aces in their first match and nine more in their second. DeVargas had six against Laguna-Acoma, and Roxane DeLeon had five aces in the second match. Romero said the alternating short and long serves from different players work well together.
DeLeon and senior Daphne Talamantes both notched double-digit kills in both matches, giving strong senior contributions offensively.
In a departure from last year’s strategy, Española split time between two setters – seniors Gurule and Joni Martinez. Martinez saw time on the court last year, but Gurule is making the leap to starter straight from junior varsity.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Gurule said. She emphasized the leadership the two setters needed to bring to the team. “It’s a big role.”
It was Gurule who stuffed the stat sheet, tallying nearly 40 assists through the two matches. But Martinez was also strong as a hitter; she had 11 kills against Laguna-Acoma, and her three kills in the fifth set against Kirtland Central helped Española grab an early lead in the ultimate victory.
Romero said she likes the 6-2 rotation which keeps three hitters in the front row at all times. Española is short on back-row depth, with Marissa Abeyta the only defensive specialist other than DeVargas.
The Lady Sundevil junior varsity team also split their matches last week, losing 25-10, 25-20 to Laguna-Acoma, then defeating Kirtland Central 25-23, 25-12.
Española has a long way to go before district matches. This week, they have what should be a win against Cottonwood Classical Prep at home Thursday, and then a tougher challenge Saturday at Santa Fe Indian School.
For now, the goal remains to keep the team focused while working on communication and energy.
“I want to learn how to be the loudest team on the court,” Romero said.