St. Michael’s volleyball team is second-best in District 2-3A

The St. Michael’s volleyball team is doing just fine except for District 2-3A opponent Robertson.

It hasn’t been long since the two traded state championships, the Lady Horsemen winning the first title matching the two, and the Cardinals avenging that by getting past St. Michael’s in the next finals.

But this time it’s Robertson, undefeated at 22-0, dominating the class. With nine seniors, it also includes four juniors, not a single sophomore, and one freshman, who just happens to step in as the team’s tallest player in 6-foot-1 Alxya King-Growalt.

But it has a numbers of upper classmen standing from 5-8 to 5-10 and that accounts for its experience and strength in every position. The Cards have 17 sweeps that includes the 3-0 win at home against St. Michael’s, and in the initial match at the Lady Horsemen, it was 3-1 as the home side took set two at 25-20.

And in four matches, the 3-1 score is the same final that Robertson accounted for other then the sweeps, the closest disposing of Gallup, 3-2.

As for St. Michael’s, it is 16-5 overall and that includes a dozen shutouts against a rather tough schedule played versus Los Alamos, Albuquerque St. Pius X , Goddard, Cibola, and of course Robertson. Thus, the Lady Horsemen have beaten everyone in its district, except that no one has beaten the Cards.

And while Robertson will graduate nine of its seniors, St. Michael’s is young and has underclassmen leading the way.

There’s four, and they are freshmen Maya Pino and Marissa Sandoval-Mora, and sophomores Alex Crespin and Alana Overton. Pino is 5-8 and leads in kills, Sandoval-Mora goes 5-6 and is on top of the heap in total blocks, Crespin stands 5-6 and leads the way in assists, and then there’s the 5-10 Overton, and she is up there in every phase of the game, a true bundle of versatility.

And so when the Lady Horsemen meet up with Robertson next season, they will have the rising underclassmen and the Cardinals will have the young squad. Yes, a year makes a big difference.