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Dreams of advancing to the state volleyball championships are once again very realistic for Belen, Los Lunas and Valencia. After all, two of the three, LLHS and VHS, reached the postseason last year, leaving BHS as the odd-team-out.
The Eagles have the talent to break through, but getting past district rival Valencia may hold the key.
Los Lunas Tigers
“We have a new team,” is how Tanya Sanchez, Los Lunas volleyball coach, described the Tigers, who are coming off a 17-8 season and an appearance in the 5A semifinals.
“I was a little worried, I’m not going to lie,” Sanchez said of the graduation of standouts Addison Cordova-Wolf and all-state selections Lauren Shiplett, Mellody Chavez and Mia Mendoza, who is continuing her career at New Mexico State University.
However, as the summer camp season progressed, Sanchez started to feel a sense of relief. The Tigers finished tied for third out of 32 teams at the UTEP camp and were top four at the Rio Rancho Jamboree.
Ultimately, Sanchez believes the former players set the standard for the current roster, leaving “the work ethic, the effort, the defense. That’s something our program is known for.”
Complicating the transition was a change to a more complex two-setter system. Mendoza handled setting duties solo for five years.
“They are doing a really good job of it,” Sanchez said of the adjustment, with Cambria Casillas, junior, and Alexia Fernandez, sophomore, taking the dual role.
“It’s going good,” said Lynae Hands, an All-State outside hitter as a junior last season. “We’re taking it slow, but the more practice we have the better we’ll get.”
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With Hands on the left, Kori Robinson on the right, and Kianna Baca in the middle, the Tigers have a dangerous front row. Madison Pruitt, senior, brings experience to the defense.
When asked if LLHS is a top five team again, Sanchez responded, “I think so. I think we’re still in the battle.”
The Tigers open the season Saturday at Roswell.
“We’re ready,” Hands said as the first official practice was nearing an end. “We’ve got it.”
Valencia Jaguars
The mission for Valencia (15-10) is to not just return to the 4A State Volleyball Championship but, “do something” when they get there, said Martha Sisneros, Jaguars’ second-year coach.
VHS reached the state tournament the past two seasons, but each time came home 0-2. Sisneros believes they could break through in 2025.
“The talent level is there,” said Sisneros about a roster that features four seniors, six juniors and one freshman.
“We’ve got all our hitters and passers. It’s all set up,” Monique Chavez, senior libero, said confidently.
It’s no surprise that Chavez, who led the Jags in digs, believes the back row will shine.
“We’re going to be really good on the defense. That’s where the whole game starts,” Chavez said with a grin.
Her coach seems to agree.
“Our back row is lights out. They don’t let a ball drop,” said Sisneros, who welcomes back Arlynn Tenorio, who missed last season because of injury.
The attacking unit isn’t bad either, with freshman Payslei Henry setting up sisters, Jaiden and Eden Montgomery, who were second team All-State selections in 2024. Brooke Romero and Kenzie Goar add versatility to the roster.
The optimism at VHS didn’t come without some trepidation over the summer.
“We were kind of iffy,” Sisneros said about a smaller than expected turnout for the offseason program. “We didn’t have the numbers, but we ended up pulling out three teams,” meaning VHS will field varsity, junior varsity and freshmen squads.
St. Pius (24-3), two-time defending state champion, is the clear team-to-beat in District 4-5A. In recent years, VHS and Belen (16-7) have fought for second place in the district. For the last two seasons, Valencia knocked off the Eagles in the final regular season game, seemingly the difference between reaching the postseason and staying home.
This year’s campaign begins Thursday, Aug. 28, at Valencia against Rio Grande.
Belen Eagles
It might win the award for the most unusual start to a first practice this volleyball season, as members of the Belen Eagles (16-7) crawled on hands and knees from one end of the gym floor to the other.
It was all part of an exercise to “reclaim the floor,” said Buddy York, BHS coach, a Marine and Army veteran.
“Nobody comes into our house and pushes us around,” York said.
After starting the session by walking and then running the hardwood, it was time for the players to “crawl it. Hands and knees. Up and down, across and across.” After that, “We stand up and it’s our floor,” York believes.
That theory will be tested this season, but, “Our team has a lot of grit,” said Addison Soiles, who is back for her senior year after leading the Eagles in kills last season.
“We have a chip on our shoulder and we’re ready to go after it,” she said about ending a state tournament drought.
York, who was hired last season only one week before the start of practice, coached most of these athletes at Belen Middle School.
“I don’t have any star players,” York said. “I don’t build a team over any one kid. I like a bunch of kids who are really going to work hard and that really want it.”
Those “kids” include setter Baylee Nunn, defensive specialist Estrella Sutton-Montano, and outside hitters Shyla Rocha and Mackenzie Soiles. York will need to replace libero MiaElena Tapia, blocks leader Sithandra Doudy and steady Brooke De Leon.
York believes he has “fantastic hitters.” His concern is defensively, where BHS was inconsistent picking up “hard hits from the other team in our back row. We’ve done a lot of work with our back row over the summertime.”
The hitting begins Thursday, Aug. 21, at Bloomfield.
Soiles believes, despite being “beat down” at times by taller teams, “We’re out there to work hard no matter how little we are. We’re going to put on a show.”
