Pojoaque Valley volleyball finished 2021 with one of their best finishes since winning five state titles from 2009 to 2013, and could be even better this year.
Pojoaque ranked second in District 2-4A last year at 6-2, behind a dominant Los Alamos force, and were 17-10 overall. That was enough to earn them a No. 5 seed in the state tournament. There, they won their first two matches, but fell to the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds out of the double-elimination tournament.
“I hope we get as far as we did last year,” said senior Sonya Quintana. “Obviously, we’re hoping to win and get further than we did. But as long as we go to state and get there, I think we’ll be pretty happy.”
Gone from last year’s team are starting setter Taylor Quintana, their only all-state player, as well as defensive specialist Brianna Johnson and hitter Aspen Garcia.
But a strong core returns as this year’s senior class, including middles Sonya Quintana and Anica Urioste. Quintana brings height with a great vertical and a strong downward swing, while Urioste can swing from anywhere on the court and led the team in kills last season.
“Leadership, game knowledge and experience,” Rodriguez said of the pair.
Sophomore Jocelyn Nunez steps into the role as setter, looking to replace Taylor Quintana and become a team leader.
“She connects with our middles way more than we had,” senior captain and defensive specialist Adrianna Rodriguez said.
Freshman attacker Larissa Rodriguez will also step up into a bigger role. Kaylee Salazar joins the varsity team after transferring from Los Alamos a year ago to help on the back row. Libero is still an open competition headed into the season.
Sonya Quintana also pointed to junior right-side hitter Tessa Martinez (the tallest player on the team) as one who had limited playing time last year, but will play more after working hard over the summer.
“This year, a lot of us are closer,” said Adrianna Rodriguez. “So, that helps with trust on the court and, overall, being comfortable.”
Los Alamos will remain a strong contender, returning large contributions from a team that went 8-0 in the district last year. To win the division, the Elkettes will have to beat Los Alamos for the first time since 2018 and break a nine-match losing streak against them. And the rest of the district — Española Valley, Taos and Moriarty — will not be easy either.
“We’re one of the tougher districts in the state,” Joe Rodriguez said. “We usually go three or four teams deep, if not five. No one’s going to be a slouch.”