It is back-to-back for undefeated Las Cruces volleyball

RIO RANCHO — Keith Leupold was quick with the answer.

“1995,” he said.

Yes, Leupold, the longtime Las Cruces High School head volleyball coach, has in his storied career enjoyed many nights like Saturday, when the Bulldawgs won a Class 5A state championship.

He has, in fact, been through six other times before Saturday, when the No. 1 seed, and No. 1 team, in New Mexico, rolled past No. 3 La Cueva in the title match.

The scores were 25-14, 25-23 and 25-11 at the Rio Rancho Events Center.

“We were just unstoppable, to be honest,” said Addison Massey, the Bulldawgs’ most potent outside arm and the state’s top outside hitter.

The Bulldawgs lost just four out of 85 sets played this season.

“That’s a pretty tough thing to do, never get taken to five (sets),” Leupold said.

And, they capped a perfect 27-0 season.

Which brings the conversation back to 1995, because the only other Leupold team to go through a season unblemished was his first state championship team at Las Cruces, 29 years ago.

“You know, I said to people, it would almost be easier to come in with a loss,” Leupold said. “I know Steve (Archibeque, the La Cueva coach) knows this well, but there is a pressure for you to come out here without any losses.”

Cleveland took two sets off Las Cruces, including one in this tournament. La Cueva took a set in a regular-season match.

But Massey, the 6-foot-1 kill machine, had a few big swings in the first set to set the tone for the Bulldawgs.

But setter Sydney Pipkin had plenty of options as she distributed.

“It’s amazing how many good hitters we have,” the junior said. “And if one isn’t getting it done, I can rely on another.”

This, of course, is how La Cueva (23-4) has been getting it done against the 5A division for many years, with so much size that teams just can’t defend all of them at net. The Bears won titles in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

But the Bulldawgs were sharp in every area on Saturday night.

“We served really well tonight and our blocking was really good and our hitters put away the ball when they needed to,” said Pipkin.

Said Leupold, “We have more size. It hasn’t always been that way against La Cueva.”

Leupold was reflecting on how the game has changed since the 1995 team beat Santa Fe – which was also unbeaten — in the championship game.

“The game has changed,” he said. “The game is getting faster, the game is getting more complex.”

Las Cruces beat Albuquerque High, Los Lunas and Cleveland en route to the championship match.

Highlights from New Mexico's state volleyball tournament