Demonettes show signs of life despite Rio Rancho's domination

Aug. 31—There is light at the end of the tunnel. The question is how soon the Santa Fe High Demonettes will reach it.

Santa Fe High's nondistrict season appears to be another work in progress, much like it was in 2021. Tuesday night showed how far it has to go to compete with the top teams in Class 5A, as sixth-ranked Rio Rancho steamrolled the Demonettes with a sweep in Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium. The Lady Rams, behind 14 kills by sophomore Ceci Vance, won by scores of 25-10, 25-14 and 25-20.

It is the second straight season Santa Fe High started with losses to Los Alamos and Rio Rancho, but head coach Josie Adams and her staff are still very optimistic that her team can fulfill the promise she sees.

It's just going to take time for it come to fruition.

That happened last year, as a 3-7 start led to a 10-2 finish, a District 5-5A title and a spot in the Class 5A State Tournament.

There is only one way for lightning to strike twice in Adams' mind.

"We're working really hard on fundamentals, staying together and learning to play as a team," Adams said. "They have to come and put it in at practice."

Part of Santa Fe High's issue comes down to experience. Its back row has little varsity experience, and junior Ava Romero is transitioning from being a defensive specialist to the libero spot. Add to that an inexperienced setter in Nicole Sallee, and the Demonettes have some learning to do, which is happening in practices as well as matches.

Sophomore outside hitter Zavia Burton said the team was not as scared as it was in a sweep at the hands of Los Alamos on Aug. 25.

"Even though our serve-receive was a little off, we were able to go after more balls that were shanked and we were more aggressive," Burton said.

Hesitancy was the biggest obstacle Santa Fe High displayed in the opening game, as players were slow to react to the Lady Rams' hits. The scene was set when Ashleigh Meyer recorded a pair of aces and Vance had a tip kill around the Demonettes' block to help build a 5-0 lead right off the bat. Even though the margin was trimmed to 6-4, Rio Rancho went on an 11-2 spurt highlighted by four kills from Ella Lopez and a Vance ace.

Adams said the slow reaction time was partly caused by some changes in the rotation, as well tweaking her system. It led to players thinking more than reacting.

"We didn't radically change things up, but we did make some major changes," Adams said. "We just played around to see who would really show up for us."

There were times the Demonettes looked like they could challenge the Lady Rams — albeit for short stretches. After falling behind 5-1 to open Game 2, Sallee brought Santa Fe High bench to life with a pair of aces during a 5-0 run that tied the score. But when she missed wide on a serve, the door opened again for a Lady Rams run.

This time, a 10-2 spurt emerged behind the timely hitting of Wilson (two kills) and the power of Vance (three kills). The Demonettes back row players struggled to pick up many of her hits, which were more like missiles coming at them.

"Ceci is a big deal," Adams said. "We saw that coming when she was an eighth grader."

Meanwhile, Sallee's education at setter had hiccups. Adams said there were times her sets were off target or she was slow to feed the hot hand at the net. While she fed Burton (five kills) and Alyssa Sanchez (four), Adams would like to see more consistency from Sallee.

Considering she is her second month in her setting apprenticeship, Sallee is barely scratching the surface of her potential.

She showed some of it toward the end of Game 3, as the Demonettes rallied from an 18-8 deficit to get within 24-21 when Vance missed on a tip shot. However, Vance quickly made up for her mistake by pounding the middle of the court for her 14th and final kill to end the match.

"We're working on set location, height of the set and having her make better choices," Adams said.

All of that comes with time, which is a luxury in August.

The question is: When does the light turn on for the Demonettes, and will it be in time to lead them out of their early-season struggles again?