Peter Dindinger — NMMI Sports Press
It'll be like old times when the Price sisters take the court together at the college level.
One of the biggest reasons why the Goddard High School volleyball program has been successful in recent years is because of the dynamic duo of Vittoria and Sophia Price.
Throughout their playing careers, the sisters have challenged each other to perform to the best of their ability.
Vittoria, a soon-to-be sophomore at the New Mexico Military Institute, will get to play alongside her sister, Sophia, this coming fall.
"I'm really excited I'll get to play another year with her," Vittoria Price said. "I think playing with Sophie makes me better. I'm always trying to be better than her just as the older sister.
"It's just really competitive between us. We both want to be better and see who's gonna get the harder kill. I think playing with her on the court makes me want to be better and a better leader for sure."
The Lady Broncos were ranked eighth in the nation at the end of the regular season and earned an at-large bid to the NJCAA Division I Volleyball National Championships in Hutchinson, Kansas.
NMMI finished 37-5 overall and 11-1 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.
Seeded ninth in the tourney, NMMI solidified its spot as one of the top ten teams in the nation after finishing the tourney with a four-set victory over conference foe Odessa College.
Last season with the Lady Broncos, Vittoria tallied 305 kills, 140 digs and 20 blocked shots. Vittoria had a season-best 15 kills in a five-set win over New Mexico Junior College on Sept. 18, 2019.
"I really didn't have any expectations going into the season, but I was proud with the journey," said Vittoria Price. "I think the athlete that I was at the beginning of the season versus the end was a completely different person.
"So, I'm thankful for my coaches for bringing me on that journey and helping me develop as a leader and an athlete."
Earning first team All-State honors from the New Mexico High School Coaches Association this past season, Sophia Price helped lead Goddard to its fourth straight appearance in the state semifinals where it came up short with a 3-0 loss to St. Pius.
The Lady Rockets went 20-5 overall and 4-2 in District 4-4A. Goddard was able to capture the district crown with a five-set victory over Portales.
During Sophia's junior season, she recorded 163 kills to rank second on the team behind sister Vittoria who had 169.
The duo combined for 105 total blocks as Vittoria led the way with 82 blocked shots.
As the No. 1 seed, Goddard reached the state championship and lost a five-set battle to Los Lunas.
In 2017, the Lady Rockets went 11-14 and reached the state semifinals, losing to St. Pius in five sets. Sophia had 26 kills and 21 blocks as a sophomore.
Vittoria ranked second on the team with 96 kills while her 45 total blocks were a team best.
Sophia had a breakout freshman season with 191 kills while Vittoria tallied 192 kills. The duo dominated the frontline with 124 total blocks.
Goddard landed in the state finals but lost in straight sets to St. Pius to finish the year 12-13.
A proven winner during her four-year career at Goddard, Sophia is looking forward to the opportunity of competing at NMMI.
"I feel like joining NMMI is going to be a really good experience and they're going to be able to make me that much better of a volleyball player," said Sophia Price. "Playing with my sister — she definitely motivates me to be better and to work harder.
"So, I'm excited to see how she'll push me through this next year."
It'll be a unique scenario for the Price sisters as they get an opportunity to compete together at the college level on the same court.
"I think it's a cool experience that they actually get to possibly do this together for one more year in college," said NMMI head volleyball coach Shelby Forchtner. "She's a really good player. We've enjoyed watching her kind of grow and evolve as a player over the last four years at Goddard.
"We just wanted a kid like that on our team. They come from a good family. They seem like they're easy to coach and they're competitive. I just thought it would be cool to have two of them."
After seeing the success her sister had, choosing to attend NMMI was a no brainer for Sophia.
Aside from the top-notch academics and the competitiveness of the program, she also did not want to pass up on the chance to play with her sister again.
"I think going to NMMI made more sense to me," Sophia Price said. "I'd be able to obviously play with Tori and they have great academics and their volleyball team is really good.
"I think being able to see her journey and everything that she got to experience and go through — it kind of cemented the fact that NMMI was the place that I wanted to be."
Vittoria Price was the only Roswell native on the Lady Broncos roster last season. With the Price sisters on the roster next fall, Vittoria hopes this will pave the way for more local players to attend NMMI.
"Staying in Roswell can be really fun. People don't understand how great it is and how it can benefit you," she said. "So, I feel like us going there and having such great opportunities and having so much fun — they can see that and maybe they'll want to play there someday."