St. Pius, St. Michael's, Texico, Quemado win state volleyball titles

RIO RANCHO — St. Pius, St. Michael’s and Texico all returned to the top of their respective hills on Saturday night at the Rio Rancho Events Center.

That trio was joined by a school that hadn’t won state in high school volleyball in 47 years, the Quemado Eagles.

CLASS 4A: No. 1 seed St. Pius capped off another tremendous season, whipping No. 10 Artesia in the final, 25-16, 25-10, 25-11, to cap a terrific 24-3 season. Only three of the top four seeds in Class 5A — Las Cruces, Cleveland and Los Lunas — solved the Sartans this season.

“The work these kids put in is just the most emotional part,” said a pregnant St. Pius coach Jordan Russell, who is due in three weeks. “I don’t have to beg them to go hard every day. They’re in the weight room, they’re conditioning, and just to see them reap the exciting part of those benefits, that’s what (is rewarding).”

The Sartans’ postseason experience certainly was on display against Artesia (16-12), which went five sets to oust No. 5 Hope Christian in the semifinals earlier in the day. The Bulldogs had a stirring run this weekend. In addition to Hope, they beat No. 7 Valencia, No. 2 Albuquerque Academy and No. 3 Santa Teresa.

But Artesia was no match against St. Pius.

“I think they ran a little bit out of gas,” Russell said.

Artesia’s energy tank, however, may not have mattered, given how brilliantly the Sartans performed all season.

“A lot of us, we’ve been together since our freshman year,” said junior libero Maya Perea. “We work together every day, we’re family on and off the court, and that helps us to push each other, and that’s why we’re here.”

And St. Pius has more than a hint of ruthlessness, which all great teams tend to have.

“We thought, OK, they’re going to be tired, so we’re going to use that to our advantage,” senior middle Maya Baca said. “That was our plan, let’s make a statement.”

CLASS 3A: Make it a threepeat for No. 1 seed St. Michael’s (22-5), which downed No. 3 Cobre 25-18, 25-9, 25-18 to claim a third straight blue trophy.

“It’s amazing to make school history and I’ve had these girls since the seventh grade,” St. Mike’s coach Valerie Sandoval said. “To see them blossom into this is unbelievable.”

Three of St. Michael’s losses came to St. Pius. The Horsemen dropped only one set in four victories this weekend. They were unbeaten against 3A competition.

“The girls played so great,” Sandoval said. “The defense was so outstanding, our hitters, our setting was great. They did so fantastic.”

CLASS 2A: No. 2 Texico (24-3) claimed its second consecutive 2A title, overcoming a slow start to defeat No. 3 Mesilla Valley in four sets. The scores were 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-10.

“We talked about how we want to be unbothered with everything,” Texico coach Gabriel Jones said. “That’s our unofficial motto.”

So when Mesilla Valley (23-5), which reached the final with an upset of No. 1 Legacy Academy in Saturday’s earlier semifinal round, claimed the first set, the Wolverines were nonplussed and let their array of hitters power them back into the match.

“We kind of played sloppy in that first set, but (they) have to win three (sets) and it’s tough for anyone to win three against us, with the team we have,” Jones said.

CLASS 1A: It was 1977 when Quemado last won a state volleyball title. The third-seeded Eagles (24-4) had beaten Melrose in five sets earlier in the day, but they had plenty in the tank to take down No. 1 seed Logan (22-6) in straight sets, 25-20, 25-20, 25-18, in the final.

“It’s been a very long time,” Quemado coach Francesca Chavez, reflecting on the nearly half century between championships for the tiny school.

“We have a very young roster, it’s just a lot of fortitude, a lot of work and a lot of preparation,” Chavez added. “And coming in, and being able to execute with minimal errors.”

Highlights from New Mexico's state volleyball tournament