The Elkettes were so worn out at the end of the day, they did not even want to stay any longer to watch one court over and see who their next opponent would be.
Ultimately, No. 8 seeded Albuquerque Academy defeated Kirtland Central in four sets to line up with No. 5 Pojoaque Valley on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. in the elimination bracket.
Pojoaque Valley (19-4) won their first match, lost the second, and won the third to advance to Day 2 in the state volleyball tournament, with 12 teams left on the board, surviving a daunting tripleheader.
“It’s a long day, but they finally got their teenage spirit back in them,” said Pojoaque coach Joe Rodriguez. “They’ll probably stay up until late tonight. But they finally recovered from the day.”
Pojoaque, after barely missing out on a first-round bye in the seeding, sailed past No. 12 Santa Teresa (10-14), winning in four sets, only losing the third but dominating the other three (25-8, 25-16, 17-25, 25-12).
“If I’m being honest, we were all exhausted,” said senior Anica Urioste. “But we just wanted it, so we pushed through.”
Their second match came against No. 4 Hope Christian (18-6), who they had lost to in four close sets in the regular season. In that match, it was service errors that may have cost Pojoaque the win, while they lost 25-23, 26-24, 30-28, 23-25 — each set within two points. In the second set especially, errors continually cost Pojoaque momentum, with six in that set alone. They had 18 total service errors.
“I think maybe they were a little tired, hungry, dehydrated, or all of the above,” Rodriguez said.
Joslyn Nunez had 42 assists, and Sonya Quintana and Anica Urioste led the Elkettes with 15 kills each, while Quintana added six blocks in the match.
“All of us are tired now,” Quintana said between matches. “But we’re going to go rest up, and come back with more energy than we had before.” Her prediction came true.
That loss put them, oddly, in the first round of the elimination bracket, against No. 11 Gallup who lost their first match and was, as a result, more well-rested.
Gallup had the better start, going up 9-4 and forcing Rodriguez to use a timeout. But from there, it was all Pojoaque.
“We started playing as a team,” Urioste said. “Everything gelled together, we started trusting each other.”
They scored 10 of the last 11 points of the first set to win 25-18, they stayed in control in a 25-15 second set, and in the final set they recorded six aces — including three in a row during an Urioste run — and no errors to take the set 25-13.
Nunez had 27 assists in the match, and Quintana led with 13 kills, while Urioste provided five aces.
The Chargers, Pojoaque’s upcoming opponent, had a similar day to the Elkettes, first defeating No. 9 Silver in straight sets, then losing to top-seeded Goddard in four, then winning their nightcap over Kirtland Central.
If they win that game, they would play the loser of the quarterfinal between No. 2 St. Pius X and No. 3 Artesia for a spot in the single-elimination semifinal.
“Everyone on this team, you can tell we really want it,” Urioste said. “We’re trying to work for it no matter what.”