Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
Starring in their own version of a 1960s Batman TV fight, the Valencia twins of Moriarty led their Pintos to a resounding 25-16, 26-24, 25-20 victory over La Cueva in the championship of their team's own tournament.
With Moriarty (4-0) up 24-16 in the first game, Sock!, junior Brandi Valencia smoked a kill on a slide play to convert game point.
In a 24-24 second-game deadlock, Bam!, sister Kristin Valencia delivered on consecutive kill attempts.
Finally, with the Pintos up 24-20 in the third, Kristin resoundingly crushed a kill from the outside to finish off La Cueva (3-1).
Pow!
"That was just great. Kristin just hammered it home," Moriarty coach Kim Bell said. "It's nice to see those girls take that initiative this year and I think that's a big difference from last year - just the finish-it attitude."
Moriarty entered the season as the top-ranked team in Class 4A while La Cueva is rated second for Class 5A. Last year, the Bears twice beat the Pintos in the championships of tournaments: (1) the same Moriarty tourney; and (2) the Albuquerque Public Schools Invitational.
As the volleyball tournament season - a prelude to district matches - gets into full swing this week, many anticipated that the two teams would end up in the championship on Saturday (Sept. 8).
The Pintos took control of the first game when they extended a 9-8 lead to five points, largely thanks to three straight aces from Amy Mondragon.
In the opener, Brandi Valencia registered four kills and a block. Kristin then took over the lion's share of winners for Moriarty in the second by registering nine of her 12 overall kills for the match.
Brandi, the tournament MVP, then got seven more to go with two blocks in the third game - part of her match total of 13 kills.
"We knew they were going to be a good team and we knew they were going to push, so we really had to play hard," Brandi Valencia said. "We wanted it so bad."
Moriarty defeated Los Alamos earlier in the day to get to the championship contest. La Cueva, led by Carolyn Weed's 10 kills in the title match, knocked off Kirtland Central in the semifinals of the 16-team tournament.
After beating the Bears, the Pintos coach said the two tourney finals losses from '06 were quite a motivating factor for her squad.
"I know that's been in the back of our minds last year, and even during the summer," Bell said. "We battle with La Cueva, they're a great program and always play a great game, but our girls just knew they were due - it was time."
La Cueva coach Pam Zens didn't exactly agree wholeheartedly with the idea that her team played a great game, however.
"In game three, we overpassed the ball five times, we had nine hitting errors and two missed serves, so we're down 16-0 to begin with," Zens said. "We were not ready to play. Moriarty was playing with more passion, more readiness."
In the Sweet 16 tournament in Las Cruces, Rio Rancho's second trip in two weeks to the southern part of the state proved quite fruitful.
Two-time defending state champ Rio Rancho won the tournament by outlasting a pair of strong southern New Mexico teams on Saturday - one week after finishing second in a 16-team tourney in El Paso.
In the Sweet 16 semifinals, a rematch of last year's Class 5A state championship match, the Rams beat Las Cruces High 17-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-8. Then, in the title contest, Rio Rancho earned its second straight Sweet 16 title by beating Gadsden 30-32, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 15-8.
The matches both took place at Onate High. The first victory of the day, over the Bulldogs, took place in the very confined Onate auxiliary gym.
"The bleachers were only six rows high and there were people all over the place. It was standing room only," said Manzanares of the Las Cruces victory - in which the Rams recovered from a big deficit.
"Anytime we can play Las Cruces High this early in the season, it's a bonus. They had us dead, we were down 0-2," he added. "I kind of challenged them and, all of a sudden, our defense was real solid. And we were able to transition off slow balls and were able to attack."
Rams senior hitter Ashley Rhoades, senior setter Kayla Hammond, sophomore Darian Mullen, and junior Vanessa Leal were all selected to the all-tournament team.
Against Gadsden, Rio Rancho held leads much of the time against the Panthers, but were on the verge of defeat in that one as well.
"Gadsden did a great job of attacking the ball and we didn't defend very well," Manzanares said. "Credit Gadsden. They were confident and they had every opportunity. But I thought my kids stepped up and had enough heart and guts to win in the end."