The St. Michael's volleyball team has run the gauntlet in the first two weeks of the season.

First, there was an appearance at a star-studded tournament in Clovis. Then came this weekend's trip to Moriarty's Pinto Invitational.

After qualifying for the Gold Bracket following pool play, the Lady Horsemen (4-3) won their quarterfinal match before dropping consecutive matches Saturday in the semifinals and the third-place match.

St. Michael's lost in straight sets to eventual champion Albuquerque Sandia in the final four, 25-13, 25-12, 25-22. The taller, deeper Lady Matadors went on to defeat Texico for the championship.

"We just didn't play well against Sandia," Lady Horsemen head coach Chela Butler said. "I thought we did a better job after that, but there were some good teams in this tournament."

St. Michael's was beaten in four games by Volcano Vista in the consolation round.

The 25-20, 26-24, 25-27, 25-16 result did have its share of highlights, however. Alexa Chavez had 15 kills while Monique Romero had 14. Sam McFall added 26 assists.

St. Michael's takes more than a week off before returning to the court Sept. 15 against Los Alamos.


The Demonettes finished the Pinto Invitational victoriously, defeating the Lady Jaguars for the second time in as many weeks for seventh place in the Silver Bracket.

Santa Fe High (2-2) opened its season with Valencia and split a pair of games with the Lady Jaguars in pool play Friday.

Shivaughn Hatt recorded a match-high 19 kills for the Demonettes in their 26-24, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Valencia.

Hatt, the senior outside hitter, registered a season-high 20 kills in a consolation semifinal loss to Moriarty prior to their match with Valencia.

The host Lady Pintos outlasted the Demonettes 26-24, 23-25, 25-16, 13-25, 18-16.

"We can play at a pretty good level, we just need to play with more consistency," Sam Estrada, Santa Fe High head coach, said in his tournament summary. "When it's clicking, our offense is really good. And, I have a lot more confidence in our passing and our defense after this tournament."

Sarah Chavez anchors the Demonettes' defense from her libero position. Chavez had 10 digs against Valencia after her 23-dig match against Moriarty.

Ashlie Romero had nine kills and Camille Romero and Barbie Robertson evenly divvied
12 kills for Santa Fe High against the Lady Pintos. Robyn West finished with four kills.

Chavez and Camille Romero served two aces apiece against Moriarty and had four aces each against Valencia.

Robertson finished with seven kills and Camille Romero had three kills against in the Lady Jaguars.

"We played pretty well throughout the bracket," Estrada said.


Sophomore Amanda Maestas came up big when it mattered most, leading the visiting Lady Sundevils to a 25-23, 19-25, 11-25, 25-20, 15-13 non-district win at Hope Christian in Albuquerque.

Española trailed 6-1 to start the deciding fifth game, but Maestas had two key blocks and three kills to help turn things around. She then found herself at the service line with the score tied at 13. She delivered an ace to reach match point, then served out to win it.

"She probably had a hand in half our points in that last game," said Española coach Damon Salazar.

Maddy Romero had 17 kills and four aces for the Lady Sundevils (3-2). Sebrina Duran added 11 kills and 10 aces while setter Karli Salazar delivered 34 assists.