ST. MICHAEL’S VOLLEYBALL DROP CLOSE ONE

The St. Michael’s volleyball team has played four times and three of the matches were ascloseasthis.

Except that Friday’s five-set loss at Espanola Valley was the toughest of all, with the Lady Horsemen losing the first two sets, rallying to force a deciding fifth set, and left with a 24-26, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24, 15-8 setback in the non-district match. After knotting the sets at 2-2, St. Michael’s couldn’t maintain the pace and that cost it the match.

It lost the first and second sets by a total of five points, took the next two by four points, and then bowed out by seven points in the decider, with its next match Monday at district foe East Mountain, whom it handed a tight three-set loss in Santa Fe. Then came a sweep of Albuquerque Bosque School, followed by Espanola’s opening triumph.

For the Lady Horsemen, junior Rhegan Glidewell came away with 22 kills, senior Jayla Martinez 31 assists, 8th-grader M