Northern schools dominated the state volleyball championships last fall, but Tuesday night belonged to the South.
By Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
Volleyball: South Seniors Say Adieu With All-Star Triumphs
Schools from the northern half of New Mexico may have won state volleyball championships in Class 3A, 4A and 5A last fall, but Tuesday night belonged to the South.
In fact, at the University of New Mexico’s Johnson Gym, the South won both the 3A/4A/5A all-star match and the 1A/2A contest that preceded the big schools contest.
The South pulled out a 25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-11 victory behind the standout setting of Las Cruces High's Desirae Ceniceros and a solid corps of hitters.
"She (Ceniceros) was just fantastic. Her leadership on the floor and the way she distributed the ball," said Clovis' Darrel Ray, head coach for the South. "If I had to pick an MVP it would be her. She kept them off-balance and guessing all night long."
Onate's Jessica King, Gadsden's Liz Castellanos, Portales' Bethany Self and the Las Cruces duo of Jasmine Hawkins and Katie Arnold keyed the South's answer for every North comeback throughout the night.
"All the kids did a good job all the way through, but our first lineup was just a little bit more athletic," Ray said.
Representatives for the North were dominated by players from Class 5A state champ Rio Rancho, fellow finalist La Cueva and Cibola.
Ashley Rhoades of Rio Rancho, who was joined by Rams' teammates Kayla Hammond and Sarah Koch, was one of the toughest elements for the South to handle on the night.
Rhoades, who will play at the University of New Mexico in the fall, was joined by Cibola's Audrey Overmyer and Jackie Carlisle as well as former La Cueva standouts Cara Turney, Brenna Freeze and Lauren Gracey.
"Just meeting all the new girls, coming out and seeing what everybody had, it was just so much fun and a great experience," Rhoades said.
The Class 1A/2A North/South contest preceded the big schools contest and the South won that one too. Two members of Texico's undefeated 2A championship team, Bryn Mayfield and Brooke Bailey, were on the South squad that earned a 25-15, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18 victory.
In the nightcap, Ray had his first experience of being a head coach for a high school all-star contest.
"That's the easiest coaching gig we've ever had. When they come to you with so much experience and so much variety in the skill sets that they bring, all we had to do was manage them and not screw them up," he said. "I felt like the staff did a good job of getting them together and getting the rust knocked off them a little bit."
Ray is the head coach for the Clovis volleyball team as well as the girls track and field squad. On Thursday, he'll pick up two awards from the New Mexico High School Coaches Association at a luncheon – one for the track championship for the school and one for himself as the association's track coach of the year.
Also a basketball referee, Ray will be on the court Thursday night at The Pit as an official for the Class 4A/5A boys North/South all-star game.
"I hope I can control myself," Ray said. "I may have to take a sedative sometime during the day."
