NMMI Sports Press
The New Mexico Military Institute Bronco volleyball team earned their second victory of the season, downing Laramie County Community College in straight sets, 25-10, 25-13, 25-17, before a well-packed arena at the remodeled Cahoon Armory gymnasium.
This was NMMI's – currently ranked No. 8 in the nation – second match in the 15th Annual NMMI Classic Tournament. They won their season-and-home-and-tourney opener last night in straight sets as well against 13th-ranked Eastern Arizona College.
Head coach Shelby Forchtner had high praise for her backrow players, especially the Japanese duo of Fuka Sekita and Momok Minamiya, along with Hawaiian native Kekililani Helekahi.
"We have three kids that have been so active in the backrow, controlling it so well, and it's nice to see them come out and do it in game mode, too," said NMMI's 18-year veteran head coach. Sekita and Minamiya are very technical, they work really hard together but let each other have their space – it just flows very well. And Helekahi has seen so much growth. Honestly, she is right there with them."
The trio tallied 39 of the Institute's 58 digs in the match: Sekita led the squad with 19, while Minamiya and Helekahi tied for second with 10 apiece.
Forchtner was also pleased with her pair of super-six-foot sophomores in front.
"Our two sophomores [Vitoria Oliveira and Leah Linares] are going to have to lead the pack, game, after game, after game. And if they can play like that, our other hitters will start to follow suit. And we need that – we need three or four players putting up high offensive stat numbers – to be successful. We do have a lot of offensive threats – Alyssa [Portee] played a lot better tonight – we just need more to start firing on all cylinders."
Oliveira topped the kill count, knocking down 13 of 17 attempts with just one single error, good for a whopping .706 attack percentage. Linares also earned double-digit kills with 10. Freshman Sarah Schubert had eight and sophomore Portee had five.
Assisting on the attack, and on the defensive side as well, Forchtner's squad has two very different setters this season.
The new freshman setter, Dilean Bounds, hails from from El Paso, Texas, and is described by coach as "very stoic, with her game-face on the whole time is she out there," while sophomore Helekahi is "a free spirit, just a little energy bug. But they both are very athletic and very good defenders, and that just adds to the whole. Two very different people, but they both just get the job done."
But perhaps what pleased Forchtner the most about their win over Laramie County – and what brought about the biggest smile when asked about it after the match – was the way the Institute served the ball.
"Our serving was absolutely amazing," said Forchtner simply.
NMMI racked up seven aces in the match, six by Sekita and one by Minamiya. But it wasn't just the aces, it was the way NMMI hit every single serve, keeping the Golden Eagles off-balance and out of rotation the entire night.
With a 2-0 start to the season, the Bronco players are all smiles as well, but they've got two more matches tomorrow: South Mountain Community College at 8 am, and another nationally ranked opponent, ninth-ranked Utah State University Eastern, at 4 pm.