Lady Timberwolves Reset, Rally Past Sandia Prep 3-1

SANDIA PARK, N.M. — The East Mountain High School volleyball team shook off a mid-match lapse and rode a gritty, disciplined performance at the net to defeat Sandia Prep 3-1 on Tuesday night, staying unbeaten in district play.

The Lady Timberwolves took the District 5-3A matchup 25-21, 17-25, 26-24, 25-18, improving to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in league action. Sandia Prep dropped to 7-8 overall and 0-1 in district competition.

After claiming the opening set, East Mountain struggled to find rhythm in the second frame, dropping it by eight points as Sandia Prep seized the momentum. Facing a critical juncture before the third set, Lady Timberwolves head coach Claire Rose challenged her squad to hit the reset button.

“We kind of really had to reflect on the things that we did poorly,” Rose said. “Normally in a volleyball game you take five seconds and then you’ve got to move forward. But since we kind of were doing the same things in all of Game Two, we had to think about, ‘Okay, how can we reset and win the next two?’ Which is what we did.”

The adjustment paid off immediately from behind the baseline and in extended rallies. East Mountain outlasted the Sundevils in a tense 26-24 third set before pulling away comfortably in the fourth to seal the victory.

“We talked about taking care of the ball behind the service line. It’s so important because we have such great servers on our team,” Rose said. “When we can take charge of that, we’re so good. But also not hesitating, playing as a team, and upping our energy.”

Throughout the second half of the match, East Mountain relied on scrappy defense and tactical finesse, mixing power attacks with deceptive touches to navigate Sandia Prep’s block.

“I always thank them. I’m like, ‘Thank you for being the scrappiest team I know,’ because they’re so good when they just want to keep that rally alive,” Rose said. “In practice, we work a lot on our volleyball IQ to put the ball where people are not. Having a strong, powerful shot is the right move sometimes, but it’s not necessary every time.”

Tempering that aggressive instinct with situational awareness proved crucial down the stretch.

“It’s hard, especially when you have young girls who are so strong and understand a lot of the mechanics — it’s hard to damp down that desire to just swing away at everything,” Rose added. “So I’m really proud of them for playing a smart and mentally resilient game.”

With early district victories over Cottonwood Classical and Sandia Prep in hand, East Mountain enters the heart of its schedule positioned near the top of District 5-3A, even if Rose prefers flying under the radar.

“We’ve got to keep winning,” Rose said. “I’m okay with us being the underdogs. That seems to be the place people want to put us, and I’m just fine with that. Our district is deceivingly tough. Prep is a great team, very well-coached, same with Cottonwood. We still have Bosque and Cuba, and they are always very sneaky. Going forward, we can’t underestimate the rest of our schedule. Stay true to ourselves, just keep winning.”