Santa Fe Indian stays alive in 3A playoffs
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Santa Fe Indian School freshman Toni Riley (14) celebrates with her teammates after hitting down a kill against the Ruidoso Warriors on Friday in the Class 3A volleyball playoffs at the Rio Rancho Events Center. SFIS won two elimination games on Friday to advance into Saturday's matches.
RIO RANCHO, N.M.
A spirited Santa Fe Indian School squad is playing with a purpose.
The youthful Lady Braves (16-11) won a pair of elimination games at the Rio Rancho Events Center on Friday to advance into Saturday’s round at the New Mexico Class 3A State Volleyball Playoffs.
“We’re not ready to go home,” SFIS head coach Joseph Garcia said. “We packed through Saturday, and we want to keep playing. We don’t mind doing our laundry in our hotel, washing our jerseys.
“We’re just on a mission,” he added. “We’re representing our people, our communities and it’s just fun to see how far these young group of girls have come.”
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
The Santa Fe Indian School volleyball coach (right) gives a high five to one of his players after the Lady Braves swept Ruidoso on Friday at the Rio Rancho Events Center. SFIS plays district rival Las Vegas Robertson at 8 a.m. on Saturday in Rio Rancho, N.M.
The seventh-seeded Braves went 1-1 during Thursday’s round by beating No. 10 Dexter 25-23, 25-17 and 25-23. The Braves then lost to district rival West Las Vegas in four sets. The Lady Dons pulled ahead by a 25-19, 25-7, 23-25 and 25-22 count.
In Friday’s matches, Santa Fe Indian swept No. 8 Tohatchi (25-21, 25-18 and 25-3) earlier in the day before taking down No. 6 Ruidoso (25-22, 25-16 and 25-18) to makes Saturday’s round.
“At the beginning of the season I told the (Santa Fe) New Mexican that we’re a young team and it’s going to take us a while,” Garcia said. “Now, we’re at a point to where we’re all grown up. We’re playing Lady Braves ball the way we wanted to play all season long.
“Yes, we had our hiccups along the way, but we trusted ourselves and we’re continuing to play,” he added. “It’s a total team effort. What I love as a coach is they’re pulling together; the bonds that we have is much tighter now.”
Thanks to a competitive district, Garcia says a different SFIS squad has emerged. They’re playing with more confidence.
“It’s volleyball,” Garcia said. “It’s about momentum, understanding your sisterhood, and understanding your players. Every year it’s going to take time to gel.
“Right now, we’ve gelled,” he added. “We’re flourishing and we’re flying. It took us a while, but we’re playing the type of ball that we wanted to play all season long.”
SFIS is looking to advance into the Final Four round as the Braves will play another district opponent in No. 5 seed Robertson early Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
The winner of that match plays No. 3 Cobre at noon in the semifinals. The championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m.
“In all honesty, we just got to be ready to play, regardless of who we’re playing,” Garcia said. “We got to trust ourselves and focus in on what we’re doing on our side of the court.”
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