Entering her sixth season as Española Valley’s volleyball coach, Nichole Romero is looking for some significant improvement from a squad that seemed to consistently come up just short last season.
“Last year, we competed with just about everybody,” she said. “We just couldn’t finish. We would always be right there, even if we lost in three sets, we were always right there. We just could never put it away.”
But, Romero said, that was to be expected because the Lady Sundevils were playing a lot of younger players. Now those younger players — including six starters among the 12 returning players — have at least a season’s worth of varsity experience under their belts.
“Expectations always run so high, but truly, I’m planning on competing for district this year,” she said. “In the past, we were aiming for third, but this year we expect to give Los Alamos a run for their money. Just with what we have coming back, I’m hoping to win, but I expect to be top two for sure.”
While Española lacks size, the defense should be loaded with junior Faith Valdez (5’0”, L) and senior Nayeli Canales (5’0”, DS) roaming the backline.
Offensively, senior Averi Schultz (5’7”, OH) and junior Armani Lawrence (5’7”, OH), who is coming off an ACL injury should provide plenty of firepower while junior Naquita Martinez (5’9”, MB) and senior Kimberly Griego (5’8”, MB) will be busting up opposing offenses. Senior Leah Vigil (5’3”, S) will be running the offense, and multi-sport athlete senior Olivia Suazo (5’1”, OH,/DS) will chip where needed.
And there is a different attitude this season, the coach said.
“Now, this year, it’s about them finishing and coming together and doing it for each other,” Romero said. “We needed a better mindset.”
It’s apparent that it is working, she said.
“We’ve done a lot more bonding than we have in the past,” Romero said. “Just a lot more sharing of my own experiences and a lot more open communication. We’ve grown, these girls have grown. Six years and I think we’ve finally meshed. They understand each other. When we do have conflicts, we approach it in a different way.”
The players are looking forward to a strong performance this season.
“I expect us to be really good because we have lot of experience,” Vigil said.
The team bonding has been effective, she added.
This year is a great opportunity because of the experience, Suazo said.
“My mindset is just to have fun,” she said. “I think that really helps with my head. It’s even better if we win. Of course, we want to win, winning feels really good.”
And this is the team to do just that, Suazo said.