Lady Rattlers, Longhorns, Coyotes amidst district play

link Lady Rattlers Destinee Montano and Kalani French jump to block the hit from the Lady Lions Mikayla Garnand as Tucumcari's Alyssa Martinez waits for the

potential dig during Thursday loss to Santa Rosa at the Snake Pit.

QCS Senior Writer

The Tucumcari Lady Rattlers, 3-10 (0-1 in league play), prepare for their second District 5-3A match up Saturday against the 7-7 Lady Tigers at Raton.

The Lady Rattlers lost their first district game Thursday, 3-0, to the Santa Rosa Lady Lions at the Snake Pit.

“Our biggest issues is the unforced errors that give the other teams easy points,” said Lawrence Sena, Lady Rattlers head coach.

Sena said the Lady Rattlers made questionable plays against the Lady Lions that put them in a hole early in each set. He said he is confident that the team can correct those issues during practice this week.

Sena said the team has the skills to play with the teams of this district and with hard work they can compete with Raton and come away with a win.

The Lady Lions weren’t very tall, but their defense was able to take away points from the Lady Rattlers hitters.

“Being quick and strong at defense that is what I have worked on with the Lady Lions since the start of the season,” said Breezy Gutierrez, Lady Lions head coach.

Gutierrez said the team does not have size for blocking hits at the net like other teams, so she has stressed defense to the team. She said they work to get the digs and defend the floor from open kills.

Game time: 4 p.m., Saturday at Raton.

The Logan Lady Longhorns, 14-3 (2-1 in league),continue their district run with a home game Thursday against Fort Sumner.

The Lady Longhorns are concentrating on every match and know they can not look past anyone in this district, said Lady Longhorns head coach Robert Young, who said each team in District 6 has the ability to win a game if you take them lightly. He said the second-ranked Lady Longhorns are not looking past their upcoming game with the Vixens.

“You lose focus for just a moment to look at a team you play further down the line and you may regret it,” Young said.

Game time 4:30 p.m., Thursday at Logan.

The San Jon Lady Coyotes, 3-10 and 3-1 in league action), seek their fourth win in district Tuesday against the Lady Bronchos at Grady.

The score of this match up was not available at press time.

The Lady Coyotes won their three previous District 4 games: they beat Mosquero/Roy by a score of 3-2 on Oct. 3; they defeated Floyd 3-2 and Clovis Christian by a score of 3-0.

“The Lady Coyotes have the heart, want and desire to be winners,” said Tyra Moore, Lady Coyotes head coach.

The Lady Coyotes next district game will be at 5 p.m., against Mosquero/Roy at San Jon.

Game time: 5 p.m., Thursday at San Jon.