Magdalena Steers versus #4 Quemado Eagles in district play

The Magdalena Steers volleyball team has hit a bit of a rough patch recently, but they are keeping their spirits up. They lost three out of four games in a busy week last week, but the teams they lost to all have solid winning records. On Saturday, Oct. 25, they traveled to Reserve and played the Mountaineers, who are now 10-5, to a fifth set (W 26-24, L 25-10, L 25-15, W 25-23 and L 15-11).

After a loss to NM Division A’s #4-ranked Quemado team last Thursday, players still had positive things to say.

“We’re amazing. We’re having fun and we have confidence all around the court. We’re better than we’ve ever been,” junior Oliviah Clark said.

Clark’s teammates echoed her comments and then added on to them.

“We’ve been more excited. We were down but we picked each other up,” junior Amberlee Apachito said.

A third teammate kept the positivity rolling.

“We’re united. We’ve got more confidence against bigger hitters,” junior Winona Apachito said.

The Steers varsity team lost 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-12) to Quemado last Thursday, but it wasn’t all Quemado that day. That same day, the Steers junior high team won their match 2-0 against Quemado, and the JV match went for three exciting sets with Quemado barely holding on for the win in the end (Quemado 25-15, Steers 25-23, and Quemado 17-15). After the match, Head Coach Micheon Shellhorn looked at the bright side.

“This is the best we’ve played against Quemado in my time here.” Shellhorn said, who is in her third season coaching the Steers.

The away rematch against Quemado was another win for the now 17-1 Eagles, but the Steers got a few more points this time: 25-15, 25-16 and 25-17.

The Steers still have an overall winning record at 12-9, but they have fallen to 1-3 in their district, which is looking to be extremely competitive.

“It’s all about keeping momentum and focusing on our successful moments.” Shellhorn said.