The Grants Lady Pirates volleyball team continues to battle through a challenging stretch of the season after suffering recent, back-toback 3-0 losses against Albuquerque Academy and Hope Christian.
Despite the recent setbacks, the Lady Pirates are working to finish the season strong as they prepare for two important matchups against teams they have faced earlier this season: Belen and Valencia. With only two home games remaining, the team has plenty to play for, including an opportunity to celebrate its five seniors.
In their matchup against Albuquerque Academy, the Lady Pirates fell in three sets but continued to compete throughout the game. Although the final score did not fall in their favor, the team showed determination, especially in the third and final set. The Lady Pirates put up a strong fight, battling to keep the match competitive and refusing to give up despite being down in the match. Their effort in the final set showed the team’s willingness to keep pushing until the very end.
“Actuallly,we just played without caring about the score and we ended up doing pretty well,” senior Hailey Rose said. “We didn’t do enough to win, but good enough to put up an actual fight.”
Following the loss to Albuquerque Academy, Grants faced Hope Christian in its most recent game. The Lady Pirates once again fell 3-0, adding another difficult result to their recent stretch of games. Although the outcome was not what the team hoped for, the players have continued to gain experience and work together as they prepare for the final games of the season.
“That game, we didn’t have an expectation of how we would perform,” Rose said. “We honestly just played and it was maybe one of the most fun games we’ve played and we scored against them in all sets. The back row got some good digs in the game and our defense was really good.”
As the regular season moves closer to its conclusion, the Lady Pirates will turn their attention to two familiar opponents - first to Belen on October 27 and then to Valencia on October 29. Both teams have previously defeated Grants, giving the Lady Pirates another opportunity to compete against opponents they know, and look for ways to improve. These upcoming matchups will challenge the team to put its recent experiences to use and continue fighting for every point.
The game against Belen will be one of the Lady Pirates’ final opportunities to compete at home before they face Valencia. With both opponents having previously earned wins against Grants, the team will look to bring energy, focus and determination into each matchup.
The Valencia game will also hold special meaning for the Lady Pirates, as it will also serve as Senior Night for the team’s five seniors. The team will recognize its five seniors and celebrate the time, dedication and memories they have contributed to the volleyball program. From practices and games to the friendships built throughout the season, Senior Night will be an opportunity to recognize the hard work these athletes have put into representing Grants. With the Valencia matchup marking Senior Night, it will also be one of the last chances for the community to support the Lady Pirates on their home court.
“For me senior night will be special if I personally play how I played against Hope Christian,” Rose said, “I didn’t look at the score once, I just played and had fun. And we all play like that, hopefully we’ll have a good turnout for the team as well.”
With five seniors to celebrate and two home games left, the Lady Pirates have plenty of reasons to finish strong and give their fans something to cheer for. The program will say “farewell” to seniors Rhyan Brown, Dezrah McNeill, Cinay Monte, Bianca Murillo and Hailey Rose.
“This senior group is really close, friendship-wise to begin with,” Rose said. “Rhyan, Dez and Bianca have played together the longest, so they’re really close, but overall our group is really close, so it made our senior season very enjoyable. Brewing together 24/7 made it special.”
The volleyball C team will start the action at 4 p.m. on Thursday against Valencia, followed by the JV team and finally the varsity team. All action will take place at “The Port,” and admission is free for all.