A year ago, Renee Torrez took over Mesa Vista volleyball when they needed a coach. She was only taking on the role for a year until they could find a new coach, and stepped down at the end of the season.
But after the team’s coach resigned on Sept. 18, once again Torrez stepped up to fill in.
“I wasn’t planning on coming back, I had only filled in because they were in need last year,” Torrez said. “But they were in need again this year, so that’s why I came back.”
Torrez takes over the Mesa Vista team for the rest of the 2023 season, looking to take a senior-heavy team to the state tournament despite a slow start to their season. Torrez has only had a limited amount of time to work with the team, but she expects them to improve over the coming weeks, starting with the Santa Fe Indian School Pink-Out Tournament.
For the first few weeks of the season, Torrez watched the team that included her daughters Kylie and Jaslene.
After Torrez took over, the Lady Trojans lost in three sets to Dulce and Cimarron, then took on competition over the weekend at the SFIS Tournament. At that tournament, the Trojans had a chance to see competition from strong teams and bigger schools.
“It’s definitely eye-opening to see the competition out there,” Renee Torrez said. “I think it’s great for them. It’s great and it builds character.”
Senior Kylie Torrez said that the team learns new things from seeing bigger teams. They even learned a new cheer from an opposing team.
Renee’s oldest daughter is the starting setter for her senior year, her first year at the position.
“It’s a learning process, but I think I’m getting there,” Kylie Torrez said. “And my teammates, they’re really helping out and encouraging me.”
As a team with eight seniors, they have strong leadership and a desire to win games.
“We’re harder on ourselves this year,” said senior attacker Brittini Suazo. “We’re expecting for us to do more and push ourselves to the best we can be.”
The Trojans ultimately finished fifth in pool play and played in the Maroon Bracket. They lost to Rehoboth Christian in the first round, and defeated Monte Del Sol to take third place in the bracket. McCurdy also played in the Maroon Bracket, and they defeated Monte Del Sol to reach the bracket final, then lost in four sets to Rehoboth to take second place.
Pojoaque Valley was also at the SFIS Tournament, and they won their pool over West Las Vegas, Taos, Mesa Vista and Legacy Academy. Despite not having their starting setter due to an injury, they defeated Gallup and reached the Gold Bracket finals, where they lost to the host Braves.
Renee Torrez expects the Trojans to improve over the season, and potentially make the state tournament.
“As soon as we get everything situated, I think these girls have a real chance at it,” she said. “A lot of it is mental, it’s some kind of mental block they have. And once they release it, they can go forward.”