By Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
Volleyball: Rams Take Another Title
The state volleyball championships had quite a new look as the teams, in all five classes, battled side-by-side on the floor of Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque.
But one thing remained the same - Rio Rancho winning the Class 5A state championship.
Earning their second straight title, and fourth in the last five years, the Rams beat Las Cruces High 25-20, 27-29, 25-21, 16-25, 15-10 in a marathon finale Saturday (11/11) night.
In the fifth game, a kill from Las Cruces middle Shelby Hughes made the score 11-10 in favor of Rio Rancho. After a Hughes' miss on the next point, the Rams got consecutive blocks from setter Kayla Hammond and Colleen Connelly to go up 14-10.
On match point, the winning shot came appropriately enough from libero Stephanie Lopez. When the fifth game was tied at 9-9, Rio Rancho (23-1) got the lead for good when Lopez, on a rocket shot by Sarah Hudgins of Las Cruces (19-5), got her hand on the ball -which traveled back for a winner on the Bulldawgs' side. Not quite as spectacular, but Lopez' free ball on match point fell between shifting Las Cruces defenders and the celebration was on for Rio Rancho.
Rams' coach Toby Manzanares said the roots for this victory go back to Rio Rancho's first title in 2002.
"These girls were 11 and 12. I mean, they're dating me big time; seeing that happen and wanting to be a part of it - that's really how I can explain it," Manzanares said. "You've got to have dedicated kids. When that happens, then dreams become reality."
In Class 4A, Roswell High (20-3) got its first state title since 1993 by defeating Espanola Valley 20-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19 as senior Kim Ingram scored 13 kills for the Coyotes.
Roswell also got some major help from sophomore Chantale Riddle, who contributed eight kills and four blocks against a potent Sundevils' attack led by hard-hitter Amanda Strauss.
"I think their blocking hurt us, intimidated us and we didn't recover from that," said Espanola Valley coach Sam Estrada, whose team was paced by Strauss' 15 kills and nine more from Kristi Salazar. "We knew where the blocking was. We just couldn't get around it. They're just big girls and our tallest is five-ten."
Espanola Valley (19-6) had knocked out top-ranked Moriarty in the quarterfinals and then eliminated St. Pius in the semifinals.
"All they talked about was Espanola and, all year, we only had one vote for number one. That was from our coach," said Roswell senior Samantha Matta. "Only him, our parents and our girls thought we could do it - no one else."
Among the five classifications, only one school came away with its first-ever title and that was Pojoaque Valley (23-2) in Class 3A. Against West Las Vegas (16-10), a district rival, the Elkettes took the title 19-25, 25-11, 25-22, 25-17 in the championship match.
While West Las Vegas' Vera Jo Bustos had her usual productive day - 23 kills - it was the outside hitting tandem of Pojoaque's Ashley Herrera and Meagan Valdez that was the key factor in the contest. Herrera finished with 26 kills while Valdez added 15 more.
"Ashley had been frustrated because she wanted to make more plays. We told her to relax and stay within our system. The system went to her today and she stepped up," said Pojoaque coach Brian Ainsworth, whose squad lost a tough, five-game match in the championship to Portales in 2005. "We've been preparing for this since last year mentally. We wanted to get back here to prove we could do this."
The Class 2A title went to Texico (22-3), which defeated Estancia (21-4) in a 23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 championship match victory. The second-ranked Wolverines, dominated by young players, were led by sophomore Jaryse Harris' 10 kills while freshmen Kaitlin Luscombe and Victoria Richards added eight apiece. Estancia, top-ranked throughout the year, was paced by Kaiya Coburn's 11 kills as teammates Sharalynn Barela and Ashlee Noyes contributed eight each as well.
The Bears were poised to go up two-games-to-zero as Estancia held a 21-18 lead in the second. But a kill by Texico's lone senior, Leslie Vannatta, kicked off a 7-1 run to put that game away and deadlock the match.
Richards, whose older sister Elizabeth led Texico to the 2001 championship, said she looked forward to having a giant team photo - reserved for titlists - hung in the school's main gymnasium.
"It's going to feel good. I just never thought it would come my freshman year," she said.
In Class 1A, Tatum (19-5) was trying for a second straight title while Fort Sumner (18-7) was seeking its second in the last three years.
Thanks to the hitting trio of Alex Owens, Racheal Chavez and Bree'Anna Lucero, it was Fort Sumner that emerged with a 25-15, 19-25, 25-20, 25-14 victory. Owens racked up 21 kills while Lucero and Chavez accounted for 13 and 12, respectively.
Tatum got a team-high 15 kills from Amanda Lopez, the only starter back from last year's undefeated championship squad.
"They played so much better defense, I thought. Amanda Lopez still had a lot of kills, but she was working her butt off to get around a double-block," Tatum coach Mike Majors said. "The blocking they did on her was awesome and they covered up the holes that we could normally take advantage of."