In the first half of the season, the Lobos lost more times than they are used to.
But now, in district play, the team is bonding together, and seems to be back on top of the district while playing at a high level.
“We’re more bonded, we are feeding off of each other really well,” Escalante Coach Mikaela Martinez said. “At the beginning of the season, I feel like we were playing a little bit more individually. And now we’re playing more as a team. And that’s helping us build momentum with where we’re at.”
The Escalante Lobos (11-7, 5-0 in district) took down McCurdy (10-5, 4-1) in four sets on Tuesday in a matchup of the two first-place teams in District 5-2A. On their home court, the Lady Lobos came out on top despite a tough matchup from McCurdy, who won a set against Escalante for the first time since 2019.
Right from the start, the match seemed to have a greater intensity between the two top teams.
“I just saw everybody come together and be a team,” Martinez said. “And that’s what I have been focusing in on at practice.”
Ashley Gilmore led the Lady Lobos with 11 kills and five blocks. Aubrey Valdez had 14 assists, and Felice Bac had nine aces. Alani Yeahquo also had 10 kills, seven aces and two blocks.
For McCurdy, Andrea Croff led the way with six kills and two blocks. Kaylee Martinez had eight assists.
Baca attributed much of the team’s success at this point to its depth.
“I’m glad we have backups for everyone,” she said. “Everyone’s not going to have perfect games. But when we do need them, they’re there. And we can all accomplish the same things if we put our mind to it.”
Every set seemed to have a good back-and-forth energy. Escalante started strong with a good run to take the first set 25-15, but the Bobcats responded in an intense second set — the Lady Lobos scored seven straight to go up 21-19, but the Bobcats came back to take it 26-24.
“We had rough patches, but everyone has rough patches,” Baca said. “We tend to build together and work as a team to overcome them. I think that’s what gives us motivation to want it and put in the work to get the W.”
Escalante had another strong run in the third set to win 25-15. McCurdy again battled hard in the fourth set, and the match had the energy of one that would go the distance. But the Lobos put that to rest with a late run, finishing the set on a 6-2 run to win 25-21 and take the match 3-1.
Earlier, in the junior varsity match, Escalante cruised to a win, 25-11, 25-13.
The Lady Lobos have not lost a match in district play since 2019,so the careers of any players on the team now have been of district dominance (though they did lose to district foe Mora in the state tournament last year). This year, after a slower start, they have picked right back up.
McCurdy next faces Mesa Vista (1-12, 0-3) in the second round of district play on Thursday, and Escalante will face Questa (10-5, 3-2).
“Just their hard work that they’re putting in right now is what is leading to their mentality and their success right now,” Mikaela Martinez said. “And I think that’s something that they’ve talked about, too. It’s all about the work we’re putting in.”