sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Varsity high school volleyball is predominantly a night sport. But it鈥檚 never looked like this. Not in New Mexico, anyway.

Not until Tuesday night.

The state鈥檚 inaugural prep outdoor night match was, by and large, a resounding success, as sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Academy and La Cueva became the first two schools in the state to compete in a match under the stars.

La Cueva鈥檚 sweep (25-21, 25-19, 25-7), in front of a large and energetic (and largely student-led) crowd, was hardly the story Tuesday as New Mexico joined roughly a dozen other states around the country to leave the comfort of a gymnasium for the great outdoors.

鈥淚t was so fun,鈥� La Cueva freshman setter Charlie Ferguson said. 鈥淭he whole team was so excited about it.鈥�

The Academy鈥檚 Richard A. Harper Memorial Stadium, which already hosts football, soccer, track and field and cross country, added volleyball on this night.

鈥淚t was crazy,鈥� Chargers sophomore Rowan Jaime said. But being part of that short list of states to hold an outdoor match was well worth it. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really cool to me.鈥�

A temporary court was hauled in from Colorado, and laid out inside the Harper stadium, on the far east side, on top of the grass, roughly where visiting football teams stand. Some temporary bleachers were added to supplement the modest number of existing bleacher seating on that side of the stadium.

Academy coach Michael Smith said preparations for the match began at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, and it took four hours, he said, to lay out the court.

The benches used for the football team were moved from the west side to the east side to accommodate the teams. A scoring table with a tiny makeshift scoreboard was set up, and an Academy athletic department official signaled to the press box scoreboard operator (who was far from the action) who won a point to display on the main scoreboard. She held up a red flag when the Chargers scored a point, a white flag when the Bears scored.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a lot of fun,鈥� Smith said. He smiled and added, 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a lot of work.鈥�

The original plan was to put the court down on another grass field north of the Harper stadium, but ultimately it was determined that their first choice was not going to be at level as everyone hoped.

鈥淭he girls wanted to play in the stadium,鈥� Smith said.

Weather was only a moderate issue. The temperature was quite comfortable, although there was an occasional breeze that sometimes disrupted timing for the setters and hitters.

鈥淲e definitely had to focus more on our setting because of the wind,鈥� La Cueva sophomore hitter Carmen Jones said. 鈥淎s hitters, we had to be ready for different sets and stuff. Other than that, it was pretty much the same.鈥�

The temporary lights, which weren鈥檛 all that high, also created a couple of minor disturbances.

鈥淭he lights, they鈥檒l throw you off for sure,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥淔or setting, the dark of the sky is so hard. Especially on those high balls.鈥�

Most everyone expects other schools in the state will follow suit at some point in the future with an outdoor match.

But these girls get to forever say, we were there first.

鈥淚 told the girls, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e trailblazers,鈥� 鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 some girl in the stands who鈥檚 gonna play volleyball because of what she got to see tonight. 鈥� These experiences are what this is about.鈥�

La Cueva鈥檚 already had a memorable season, and the season is only a month old. They took a season-opening trip to Florida and had a good showing, and recently added the metro title.

鈥淚t was amazing,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淚t was a little nerve-wracking. But I鈥檓 glad we got to have this experience.鈥�

The lights, plus the softness of the court, and that occasional (but never truly intrusive) breeze all played minor roles in the match. When players who were serving went to bounce the ball, for example, they really had to slam it hard onto the court, because it looked like the volleyball itself didn鈥檛 have enough air and barely bounced.

鈥淥ne thing we were worried about is the footing,鈥� La Cueva coach Steve Archibeque said. 鈥淚t was a little squishy, but we rolled it all day long to make it a little flatter.鈥�

The teams also did something that nobody does anymore, which is switch ends after each set, so that neither team would have an advantage regarding the weather/breeze.

鈥淭he girls had a blast,鈥� Archibeque said. 鈥淚 think the girls had tons of fun tonight.鈥�

Next for La Cueva, Class 5A鈥檚 second-ranked team, is the Rio Rancho VolleyBash this weekend, a tournament that will also feature the other top-ranked teams in 5A, Cleveland and two-time defending state champion Las Cruces.

But the Bears hope this won鈥檛 be their only outdoor match.

鈥淭his is so cool,鈥� a beaming Ferguson said. 鈥淚 definitely want to do it again.鈥�