Unica May suffered the same terrible luck as her older brother.
A year ago, Garrett May tore his ACL and was forced to miss his entire season in basketball. Unica tore hers and was forced to miss her fall 2022 senior volleyball season.
But, like her brother, she progressed enough in rehab to be able to make an honorary contribution in the last game of the season — entering the team’s rotation to serve to big cheers (even if, after serving, she had to stand in the corner of the court for the rest of the point).
“I was really nervous, but really excited to step on the court for the first time in my senior year,” May said.
Her older brother helped her handle the situation, telling her that it would get harder as the year went on, and when she felt healthier but was still not cleared to play, only being able to watch the rest of the team.
The Sundevils (2-20, 0-8 in district) hosted senior night in front of a big crowd, honoring May along with Robyn Garcia and Rhianna Padilla, as they finished their regular season on Nov. 1 with a three-set loss to Pojoaque (17-3, 7-1) — 25-15, 25-19, 25-17.
Española coach Nicole Romero remembers tearing her ACL in high school, along with her friend and the team’s athletic trainer Celina Velasquez — who helped May rehab and reach that point — and several other teammates.
“For her to get the opportunity to hit the court one more time, I know it meant the world to her,” Romero said. “I wanted her to get that one last chance.”
The senior day ceremonies spotlighted the achievements of the seniors, all of whom had been on the varsity team last year, but only Garcia for more than that.
“I was really happy and excited to just have this one last game with my whole team,” Padilla said. “For everyone to be here, too, I was ready.”
Freshman setter Leah Vigil recorded 12 assists in the match. Mercedes Gonzales led the team with four kills and two blocks.
It put to end a disappointing season for the young Sundevils team with multiple freshmen starters. Though, right before that, they had a strong performance against Moriarty, going to five sets and losing 16-14 in the final set tiebreaker.
“It was hard, at times I didn’t know what to say,” Garcia said. “It was really hard sometimes to just try and pick everybody up. But I do love my girls, and it was super fun playing with them all year … I wouldn’t have asked for any other team to be my senior year team.”
“It was not a successful year record-wise, but growth-wise I really enjoyed this year,” Romero said.
But the seniors tried to keep the energy as they built a program for the future for the younger players.
“It was hard, but we tried to remain positive for our babies,” May said. “They have more seasons to come … It really teaches them the game, and hopefully they’ll be an amazing team every year that they have.”
The Pojoaque junior varsity and C teams both won in straight sets.
“I’m going to remember the football boys coming in to cheer for us, and telling us we better not lose,” Garcia said. “I’m going to remember our away games, and just messing around there. I’ll remember all the laughs at the lunch table and the dinner table. I’m going to remember that losing feeling, and try to move forward.”