A large pair of sneakers needs to be filled for the McCurdy volleyball team after Rio Grande SUN Female Athlete of the Year Mariana Arambula graduated.
But coach Maxine Martinez, who is entering her third season, has quickly turned the Lady Bobcats program into one that is capable of withstanding the loss of a star player, even one who meant so much to the team.
“I’m expecting them to continue to compete,” Martinez said. “We lost a big player and we’re trying to fill that role. We do have some experienced players, but we had two seniors, who were pretty important.”
Aubrey Cordova was the other senior who left and she provided veteran leadership and championship experience from the Class 2A state champion cross country team.
“But we have a mixture of some young ones who are looking to step up and help us out in a big way and some juniors and a senior who can all mesh well and carry us. It will take a combination because it wasn’t just talent and skill-wise. It was a combination. She (Arambula) did bring a lot of other things to the team.”
Still, with junior Isabella Archuleta (5’5”, OH) and junior Marisol Serna (5’5”, OH) both back to take on bigger roles as outside hitters, the Lady Bobcats should be fine offensively. Senior Kaylee Martinez (5’3”, S) will reprise her role as the playmaker after dishing up 626 assists last season.
Defensively, sophomore Gabriela Velasquez (5’4”, MB), will get some help inside from freshman J’nae Rivera (5’6”, MB).
“Everyone is pretty eager and looking to improve and better themselves and that’s always exciting, especially when you have some younger players who are really stepping up,” Maxine Martinez said. “And hopefully that all works out fine.”
Kaylee Martinez said after winning two games during the state tournament last year, the team is ready to do more, especially since several of the returning players are like her and were part of not only the cross country championship, but also the record-setting 4×800 championship relay team.
“I think it just makes us hungry,” she said. “We won a state championship in other sports and that makes us want to do it in this sport, too. But the energy from the girls is great and the main goal is to have fun. And that is what I think it should always be, to have fun and always do our best no matter what.”
Seeing the influx of the new players also is exciting, Kaylee Martinez added.
“We’ve had some younger girls who have really stepped up,” she said. “A lot of them have been coming to practice all summer and that’s helped out the team a lot. I think we’ve really turned this program around since I was an eighth grader. It has changed a lot for the better.”
Archuleta said she tries to set an example for the less experienced players.
“All of us just need to step up on our own and help the younger girls who are moving up,” she said. “Helping them to get used to it, showing them the things to do. And for me, I’m trying to be better and I’m working harder in practice.”