N.M. volleyball

Kirtland pulls away from Miyamura, now 2-1 in district

KIRTLAND

Midway through the district season the Kirtland Central High School volleyball team is still trying to figure things out.

So far, things are looking up for them as they are now 2-1 in 5A District 1 as they picked up their second district victory over Miyamura High School. The set scores were 25-22, 25-22, 17-25, 25-13 on Tuesday.

Kirtland Central head coach Nadia Begay-Watson said her team pulled off the win but they are still looking for the combination of players who will get them the wins for the remainder of the season.

“We’re still trying to find what works for us, they have their up moments; they have their down moments,” she said. “We’re just trying to find that group that will be consistent enough to pull us through those tough times.”

Consistency has not been the Lady Broncos’ strong suit so far this season.

Begay-Watson said the team has faced many challenges that led to inconsistencies throughout the season, challenges that ranged from injuries to illnesses.

But some of the inconsistencies were held at bay on Tuesday when Kirtland Central pulled through for the win.

The first set started off in Miyamura’s favor as the Lady Patriots took the early lead, but the Lady Broncos were not far behind. Kirtland Central trailed most of the set before evening up the score at 22-22.

They went on a 3-0 run to close in on the 25-22 win and took the match lead 1-0.

Miyamura head coach David Scott said his team’s season-long trouble with mental strength showed early in the match.

“We’ve just been working hard in practice, working on everything,” he said. “You can’t teach mental toughness; they need to find that on their own.”

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