Bernalillo volleyball sweeps Highland, gears up for district play

BERNALILLO — This time last fall, Bernalillo High School volleyball found itself amid a program renaissance.

The Spartans put together a nine-win season in 2024, their highest total since 2011 and more wins than their previous three seasons combined.

“We are changing the culture of the program to one that is relentless, dynamic and never satisfied. We still have work to do, but our journey is far from over,” coach Ariana Aragón-Borg told the Observer last October.

That never-satisfied mantra has now carried over to 2025. Next up on the Spartans’ checklist? Record a win in district play.

Bernalillo has gone 0-16 in district matchups in the past two seasons, but on Tuesday night against Highland High School, the Spartans showed off the tools that could lead them back to that win column.

Aragón-Borg and her crew took a home sweep over the Hornets: 25-7, 25-22, 25-20.

Each set presented a new challenge for the Spartans: pulling out a runaway win in set one, staging a comeback in set two and fending off the Hornets’ last run in the finale.

Junior middle hitter Samaria Brown was a factor in all three frames, leading the Spartans with powerful swings past the Highland front row. Brown passed the 100 kill mark on the season two weeks ago and hasn’t looked back since.

Savannah Townsend and Rayann Downing both contributed at the net as well, including a late run by Townsend in set three with a few kills and a couple of aces to put away the match.

While on paper it looked like Bernalillo should sweep the Hornets with ease, this is a Highland team that is hungry for a win. They threw everything they had at the Spartans, and it started to show in sets two and three.

Highland opened the second set on a 7-2 run, but scrappy play from the aforementioned Spartan front row and great defense in the back by libero Gabriella Sanchez would halt the Highland momentum to keep the sweep in tact.

Now sitting at 6-8 on the season, Tuesday’s win may be the tune-up the Spartans need to head into district play and climb back to a .500 record.

Bernalillo volleyball will open its district schedule with a road matchup against Hope Christian High School on Oct. 7.