Sophomore outside hitter Baby Moleni (middle) digs a ball while sophomore libero Mio Yamamoto watches during the Broncos straight-set win over Tyler Junior College Saturday at Cahoon Armory. (NMMI Sports Press Photo)
Posted: Aug 20, 2022
The New Mexico Military Institute Bronco volleyball team completed a perfect weekend inside Cahoon Armory with a pair of straight-set victories Saturday against No. 13 Tyler Junior College and South Mountain Community College.
Bronco head coach Shelby Forchtner said she liked the way her team cleaned up mistakes and improved their play as the 14th annual NMMI Classic progressed.
"We got better and better as the tournament went on and that's always a good sign," she said. "I think we just need to get better as a group, as far as our culture. We need to tweak a few things and once we get those little things down, I think we will be even better."
Against Tyler, the first two sets were tight at 25-21 and 25-20, but in the third and final set, the Broncos cruised 25-11.
"Our setters seemed to be strategically not doing what we asked," Forchtner said. "After losing a nine-point lead in the second set, they flipped the script and started doing what we wanted and we won easily after that."
Freshman opposite Leah Linares led the offensive effort with 11 kills on 16 attempts with just three errors while freshman outside hitter Rhiana Todd came off the bench to add seven kills on 13 attempts with one error, plus two ace serves.
Forchtner was happy with Todd's play off the bench, especially when the team needed to mix it up.
"When she's come in, she's been very aggressive, which is what we ask of the kids that have not earned a starting spot yet," she said. "She went in and got kills, served very aggressively and made some great defensive plays. We needed someone to come in and do something different and she did."
Sophomore libero Mio Yamamoto dug 19 balls and sophomore setter Megan Waghorn saved 10. Neither had a receiving error against Tyler.
In the final game of the tourney, South Mountain kept things interesting in the third set, taking multiple late leads before the Broncos finished them off with Waghorn serving. The set scores were 25-11, 25-18 and 25-23.
"South Mountain played us better as it went on, so we didn't get as many kids in the game was we wouldn't liked, but I feel like I have four lineups I can put on the floor and win with," Forchtner said. "It's going to be interesting to see what the dynamic is in our gym this week for practice and see if some of these kids can beat out starters. We reset every Monday. We want them to fight for it all year. We want them out there grinding for a spot."
Freshman middle blocker Vitoria Oliveira had 11 kills on 18 tries against South Mountain. Sophomore outside hitter Barbara Guedes Rezende contributed nine kills on 14 attempts and scored two aces on 19 serves with just one error.
Yamamoto had a stellar weekend from start to finish, proving why she is one of only two players named to the American Volleyball Coaches Associations 2022 Two-Year Players to Watch for Division 1.
"She's a very special kid and she deserves to play at a high level and she will continue to do just that," Forchtner said. "I want to see her do everything she did for us last year, plus more. And she can. She's more comfortable this year. She's even more in control of herself, the back row and her communication with teammates. And she's a phenomenal server. She can hit a spot like nobody's business."
Throughout the tournament, the Bronco bench stayed on their feet, loudly supporting their teammates.
"That's a big piece of us and it always has been," Forchtner said. "We want the bench to be aggressive, constantly picking up the other players if we're down. It's an important piece of our culture that we talk about all the time. If the bench is dead, we will probably play dead, so we like having that energy flowing all the time."
Next up for the Broncos is a trip to west Texas to play in the Odessa College Invitational. On Aug. 26, NMMI will take on Panola College at 10 a.m. CDT and Indian Hills CC at 2 p.m. The next day, the Broncos face Temple College at 9 a.m. and HIll College at 11 a.m. Start times may vary based on length of matches.