Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Belen volleyball has five players named to 6-4A all-district teams

Two Valencia players All-5-4A

John Gale News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jgale@news-bulletin.com

Belen Five Belen volleyball players were named to the District 6-4A All-District teams after the Lady Eagles' first winning season in more than a decade.

Senior outside hitter Brittany Jaramillo, senior setter Connie Sanchez, junior outside hitter Cierra Cox and sophomore libero Justine Gallegos were all named to the first team.

Senior rightside hitter Sarah Thompson made the second team. Jaramillo and Thompson also made the all-academic squad.

Jaramillo was one of the three Belen seniors selected, and she was one of the Eagles' hardest hitters and consistent overall players the past two seasons.

"She was our go-to person, our strong hitter," Belen coach Barbara Rodriguez said. "She's good defensively, too. She's one of our most consistent servers at 98 percent. Just a solid kid all the way around."

Sanchez had been a defensive specialist, but she moved to setter to fill a need at that position.

"Connie has come a long way for us because we needed to have someone set, and she worked really hard to be one of the top setters in the district," Rodriguez said. "She was quick and could get to almost any ball. She was a good leader."

Cox also changed positions, as she moved from middle blocker last season to outside hitter this year, where she combined with Jaramillo to provide the majority of the Eagles' offense.

"Cierra has come a long way in our hitting and been a solid left," Rodriguez said. "She used to be a middle, but we moved her because she was getting good swings, and we wanted to get her the ball more. She stayed in all the way around; Very good in the back on defense."

Gallegos' floor defense was strong all year long, as she was able to dig balls and send good passes to Sanchez.

"Justine is just tough," Rodriguez said. "We hope she handles every first ball because she's quick to the ball and puts herself in a place for passing to be successful. I'm really pleased with her being just a sophomore with the rate that she's learning."

While Sanchez and Cox moved to positions that benefitted them, Thompson struggled with playing out of position earlier in the year until freshman Jessica Hoehne was brought up from junior varsity to play middle blocker, allowing Thompson to move back to the right side.

"Sarah had to kind of fill in at middle for most of the year," Rodriguez said. "She's much better at opposite, and she did better toward the end because she was in a place where she could be more successful. She's a good kid, and a good student."

Valencia

Melissa Martinez, the setter for the Valencia Lady Jaguars, made the All-District 5-4A second team. Jaguar hitter Shanice Lucas made Honorable Mention.

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