On Thursday night, No. 12 New Mexico Military Institute battled against No.7 Weatherford College in the 16th annual NMMI Classic to settle a 3-1 victory at the Cahoon Armory Gym.
After weeks of seeing the same faces at practice, 19-year head coach Shelby Forchtner was relieved to see another team lining up across the net, "we haven't faced an opponent, so it's nice to see another team across the net and be able to manipulate our lineup to do what we need to do."
The first set went to the wire as NMMI was trailing at the end of the set before they were able to regain a 24-23 lead near the end. Outside hitter, Sarah Schubert put an end the set as she recorded one of her seven total kills to move the game into the second set and give the Broncos a 25-23 set one win.
The second set mirrored the first as the game was tight and neither team was able to separate themselves. Once again, the Broncos trailed 21-17 in set number two before flipping the script. Coming off the bench, opposite hitter Daicy Benites Franco contributed 10 kills while hitting .474 on 19 attempts to lead the team and spark the comebacks. Going on a run, the Broncos only allowed two points to end the set 25-23 before completing the second comeback in as many sets.
Fighting to play another set, Weatherford did not back down after going behind two sets as they took the third set 25-21 and the sweep opportunity away from the Broncos.
Eager to start the season off on the right track, the Broncos used the fourth and final set to make a statement. Allowing the fewest points in a set of the game, the Bronco defense allowed just 10 points on their way to a 25-10 game-clinching set. On the defensive side, Fuka Sekita continued where she left off a season ago – a defensive anchor. The libero tallied 28 digs without a single error in four sets for the Broncos.
Despite the win, Forchtner believes there could be improvement, "We made a lot of errors and still won … so we have to find a way to clean it up," Forchtner said. Throughout the season there are many goals and one for the Broncos is that, "we want to stay undefeated and win as many home games as we possibly can."
The NMMI Classic continues tomorrow morning (Friday) at 9 a.m. in Cahoon Armory and the Godfrey Athletic Center as the rest of the visiting teams start their seasons.
The Broncos are back on the court at 7 p.m. to take on Pima Community College in Cahoon to end day two on Friday night.