STATE VOLLEYBALL SEEDINGS

Valerie Sandoval was kind of disappointed. St. Michael’s head volleyball coach was hoping for a 2 or 3 seed in 3A, but had to settle for a 6th seed and will open the state playoffs at 3rd-seeded Raton.

The Lady Horsemen went 6-3 overall and finished second to Albuquerque Sandia Prep in District 5. They will play a quarterfinal match at Raton Monday, with the winner taking on the winner of the Sandia Prep-Dexter match. Prep is favored and has won 10 of 11 matches. The No. 1 seed is Socorro, which is unbeaten in a dozen matches.

The quarters’ survivors will meet on Wednesday, with the championship to be played Friday at University of New Mexico’s Dreamstyle Arena.

Meanwhile, Santa Fe High earned the top overall seed in 5A by going 8-1 overall and will play host to 8th-seeded Clovis (8-4) on Tuesday night. The winner moves on to the semifinals versus the Piedra Vista-Rio Rancho Cleveland victor, with the Storm a familiar Demonettes rival from District 6-5A.

Cleveland was the district runner-up and is the 5th-seed, while unbeaten Piedra Vista (12-0) has been one of the better teams in state through the years and has won several state titles.

The other side of the bracket has 2nd-seeded Clovis Centennial, undefeated in 11 matches, home to Albuquerque High and 3rd-seeded La Cueva getting a visit from 4th-seeded Las Cruces. Santa Fe High is one of three schools in 5A play with unblemished records.