To say last season didn’t go well for the Pojoaque Valley High School volleyball team would be a bit of an understatement.
The Elkettes finished 3-20 and were winless in District 2-4A play, but there is optimism that new coach Iliana Mendez will be able to turn things around.
Pojoaque will be without six seniors who graduated, but Mendez is confident the returning players will more than fill the gaps.
“We’re a really young team, but we’re trying to overcome last year’s season and just come back and win,” she said. “The talent is there, but we’re trying to build the confidence within the team. But, if we’re not winning, we’re learning and everyday we play, we improve. I want them just to be confident because volleyball is a very mental game and you have to be confident to compete.”
Mendez is the team’s third coach in as many years, so it’s been something of a difficult stretch since the Elkettes went 21-5 and had a nice run in the state tournament in 2022.
“I feel like they’ve had an unstable coaching staff for a while, so it’s good for them to get something stable and be able to focus on winning and not have to worry about who’s going to come coach and things like that,” she said. “I want them to learn the game. Learn how to play quickly with a fast-paced game. They seem to do better under pressure.”
Mendez comes down the hill from Los Alamos, where she was an assistant coach and also an alum who graduated in 2020.
But, she said, “I’m from the Valley. And I wanted to come down here and get to know these girls better. I wanted to switch things up. I’ve been in Los Alamos for a while and I wanted to switch things around.”
While the team is young, Mendez is excited about the potential with players like sophomore Nyana Nieto (5’6”, OH), sophomore Camilla DeVargas (5’0”, L), and junior Alexiyah Lopez (5’6”, MB).
The Elkettes also have two solid setters in sophomore Mylee Cordova (5’2”) and sophomore Amiyah Lopez (5’6”) and Mendez is experimenting with alignments using both dual setting and single.
“We’re just going to see how that goes,” she said.
Mendez did a get a late start after being hired at the end of July, but since then, the Elkettes have been in a rigorous training and fitness regimen designed to make up for lost ground.
“During the practices, I really bust them,” she said. “I really work them in practice and two days a week, we do a full two hours of conditioning. That’s where we struggle a little bit, but we’re getting there.”
Additionally, the coach has been working on the team’s mental acuity, trying to erase any lingering memories from last season.
“I’m trying to put positive reinforcement in their heads so that they know what they are capable of doing,” Mendez said.
While the team isn’t blessed with a lot of height, the players are athletic and are making quick strides.
“Our defense is really strong and we’re working on our hitting,” Mendez said. “We’re learning to work with each other a little better. Sometimes it’s a little awkward getting the flow, but once we get that going, we should be unstoppable.”