The 疯客直播 Fe High Demons do not intend on hitting the brakes on the volleyball court.
The gas pedal is what they are focused on using, and that showed this weekend at their Tournament of Champions in Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium. 疯客直播 Fe High did not give up a game over the two-day tournament, and capped it with a sweep of Farmington for the tournament championship.
After failing to claim the tournament title for 25 years, the Demons now have defended their home turf for consecutive years after downing the Scorpions by identical 25-15 scores in each game Saturday night.
Aside from a 27-25 win in Game 3 of Saturday morning鈥檚 semifinal sweep of Albuquerque Hope Christian, no team came within 10 points of the Demons.
疯客直播 Fe High鈥檚 first-year head coach Adam Garcia said the mantra of 鈥渒eeping their foot on the gas pedal鈥 is making its way into the huddle during play stoppages.
鈥淭hey use it in the timeouts sometimes,鈥 Garcia said. 鈥淲e talk about that a lot.鈥
A pair of players who definitely mashed the accelerator against the Scorpions were sisters Aislinn and Aleena Hubbard. They combined for 24 kills, with Aleena delivering 16 of them 鈥 including the final two to clinch the match.
Aislinn was effective playing off of the attention Farmington paid Aleena and fellow outside hitter Zavia Burton, who finished with seven kills. She recorded five kills in the opening game, including three during a 12-4 spurt that turned a 7-4 lead into a 19-8 margin.
You could add fellow right-side hitter Brooke Forno to the list of pleasant surprises, as she had five kills on the night to demonstrate the Demons鈥 wide array of hitters.
鈥淭hat has been one of our philosophies 鈥 to spread the ball around and share the love,鈥 Garcia said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to have that depth in hitters.鈥
The two teams played each other for the tournament title at Farmington鈥檚 Four Corners Honors Tournament, with 疯客直播 Fe High sweeping the Scorpions again, but in three very close games. Garcia said the Demons committed 43 errors in the championship match to keep Farmington close, but they minimized those in the rematch.
If anything, it was serving that was an issue early, as 疯客直播 Fe High had five service errors in Game 1. That changed over the final two games, as it recorded only two errors and nine aces. That included three straight aces by libero Lillianna Ocampo in the third game for a 15-10 lead.
Garcia said his team is aggressive with its serve, but it鈥檚 also a reflection of how much work is put into that aspect of the game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a fine line, and it鈥檚 something we鈥檙e trying to clean up,鈥 Garcia said. 鈥淏ut we need to stay aggressive because I believe some of those top teams [in the state] struggle with serve-receive.鈥
疯客直播 Fe High gets little time to enjoy its spoils as it travels Tuesday to Rio Rancho Cleveland, a matchup against a team ranked second in the New Mexico Overtime Sports coaches poll and No. 3 in the rankings. The Demons are ranked fifth (coaches) and second (MaxPreps.com) in the same polls.