Quay County Sun - Serving the High Plains

LOGAN - Logan beating Melrose would be tough enough. Logan beating Melrose without two Lady Longhorn starters would be tougher.

As a result, it shouldn't have been surprising a top-ranked and undefeated Melrose would down a No. 2 but depleted Logan squad by a 25-14, 25-21, 25-17 score Saturday.

The Lady Buffaloes improved to 15-0 overall and seized control of the District 6 standings with a 5-0 mark with three league matches left. Brett DeVaney led Melrose with nine kills and two blocks. Hailey Martin added five kills, six aces and two blocks.

Logan fell to 15-3 overall and 4-2 in the district, with all three of its losses to Melrose. Jordan Hines led the Lady Longhorns, the defending Class 1A champions, with eight kills.

Early in the week, Logan lost sophomore Kassi Foote for the season after she suffered a broken shoulder blade in a horse-riding accident. On Friday night, all-state senior hitter Karli Webb became so ill, she had to be hospitalized.

Logan coach Robert Young said he encouraged his team to do its best to compensate for those sidelined players. He acknowledged his squad struggled at times.

"We played well in spots," he said, "but you could see the inexperience with some of those kids I put out there. Melrose is a good team. They frustrated us a little bit, and we started making more errors."

Melrose coach Casey Jackson said his team's performance generally was solid except for 13 serving errors. He said his Lady Buffaloes knew one of Logan's star hitters was absent, and it sometimes showed.

"We got complacent and we coasted through the game a little bit," he said. "But Logan still competed without her. We sort of hit a wall, and we need to break through it and get back on the uphill."

Melrose broke open a close first game with an 11-1 run. The Lady Buffs broke a 21-21 tie in game two with four unanswered points. In game three, Melrose trailed 12-9 at one point but went on a 7-0 run to take back control.

Dexter 3, Tucumcari 1

The Lady Rattlers saw their quest for a District 4 title damaged with a 23-25, 28-26, 17-25, 19-25 road loss Thursday at Dexter.

Tucumcari fell to 9-8 overall and 0-1 in the district. Jasmine Jones led the Lady Rattlers with 15 kills, and Felicity Lopez added seven. Reece Goldston totaled 37 assists.

"Dexter came out playing strong and we struggled some on serve receive," Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said. "Our team is fully capable of playing competitive against great teams. We will continue to improve and have set our goals very high."

Dexter improved to 6-11, 1-1.

Tucumcari hosts a key district match against Tularosa, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, about 3 p.m. Saturday.

Melrose 3, Tucumcari 0

Tucumcari took it on the chin at undefeated Melrose, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, during a 16-25, 12-25, 13-25 loss on Oct. 15.

Jones led Tucumcari with eight kills.

Deajha Downey and Nataley Mondragon each pounded down 12 kills against the Lady Rattlers. The Lady Buffaloes also made seven blocks and served 11 aces.

"Melrose is a tough team," Benavidez said, "but playing them will prepare us for playing Tularosa down the road."

Logan 3, Fort Sumner 0

Logan steamrolled over Fort Sumner 25-8, 25-7, 25-10 during a District 6 match Thursday at Logan.

"We handled them pretty well," Young said of his Lady Longhorns' victory. "We played as close to error-free as we have all year."

The visiting Vixens fell to 9-8 overall, 2-3 in the district.

Grady/San Jon 3, Clovis Christian 0

Grady/San Jon notched its first victory in District 6 with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-23 decision Oct. 15 at Clovis Christian.

The Lady Bronchos improved to 7-9 overall and 1-3 in the district.

"It was good for this group to pick up that district win," Grady/San Jon coach Rebecca Burns said. "We made a few changes in rotation and defense, and I think that helped us out. Clovis Christian is much improved from last year, so I knew it would be a tough game."

The Eagles fell to 7-7, 0-4.