Trio of local teams advance to state volleyball tournament

All three Valencia County volleyball teams earned their way into the New Mexico State Volleyball Championships which begins today at Rio Rancho Events Center.

Two squads, Valencia and Los Lunas, were considered shoo-ins to qualify. The third team was iffy, as players dealt with the firing of their coach four days earlier.

“They all jumped from their chairs. Including me,” said Shenoa Branch, Belen interim coach. “We all jumped and screamed. We had fun.”

The fun came Sunday after the 4A State Championship brackets were released, ending the Eagles long postseason drought. It doesn’t matter that BHS was the last team in the field, a 12-seed, with an interim head coach. Belen will next face No. 5 Albuquerque Academy to open the tournament at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Clearly, BHS (15-7) was a bubble team, but Branch was confident enough to hold a watch party for the players.

“I thought, ‘Hey we have a chance,’” Branch said. “I feel like the girls needed that.”

Even after last Thursday’s loss to Valencia, 26-24, 25-12, 25-21, Branch was optimistic because she believed the Eagles excelled in a number of the criteria points used to determine the seeding.

Addison Soiles, senior outside hitter, was also trying to stay positive.

“We had pretty open minds,” Soiles said minutes after the New Mexico Activities Association revealed the bracket. “If we do get in, great. If not, we all tried our best for each other. We’re all here to support each other no matter what.”

Traditionally, the Academy Chargers (17-6) are much respected, and this year is no exception.

“They’re a really tough team. They have been a pretty good team for a long time,” noted Branch. “We’re going to have to go in with the mindset that we’re prepared. We’re going to have to stick to the basics.”

Today’s opening round game will come exactly one week after Buddy York was dismissed as BHS head coach for unspecified reasons. See story about the firing of York elsewhere on this page.

District rival Valencia will be playing at the same time, in a court adjacent to the Belen-Academy match. As the second-place team in the district, the Jaguars earned a No. 10 seed and will play seventh-seeded Portales.

“We’re playing good,” said Martha Sisneros, VHS head coach. “We just have to stay consistent.”

Consistency has been an issue for VHS, Sisneros said. “We can be up and down, up and down.”

There is good news for the Jaguars on several fronts. They have experienced players who have been to the state tournament before, including Angie Morales, Monique Chavez and sisters Jaiden and Eden Montgomery.

In addition, VHS is in the bracket opposite top-seeded St. Pius, the two-time defending state champions.

“Hopefully, this year it’s a little bit different,” Sisneros said about breaking into the win column after going winless in the state tournament each of the past two seasons. “We want to turn that around and do something as soon as we get there.”

Los Lunas has been a regular in the 5A Championships, but the No. 7 Tigers weren’t quite as dominant this season.

With identical records, LLHS (14-9) will meet No. 10 Organ Mountain (14-9) in the first round, relying on a solid group of seniors that include Lynae Hands, Madison Pruitt and Kori Robinson.

“I’m pretty excited,” about the pairing, said LLHS coach Tanya Sanchez. “They’re a good team but I think we can definitely play with them.”

Los Lunas had a first-hand look at the Knights last summer, with 6-foot outside hitter Maggie Coats their only star player.

“I think we’re starting to mesh,” said Sanchez, as the Tigers spent much of the season adjusting to a new two-setter system. “It’s harder for the hitters getting used to two different setters. I think that has been our challenge,” adding, “I think the girls are starting to get back together. They’re playing for each other. They’re pretty excited about being in the state playoffs.”

Thursday’s match is scheduled to start at 12 p.m.