Serving the High Plains

Tularosa victorious over Tucumcari

Tucumcari has improved in volleyball this year. But its key district foe, Tularosa, also improved - all the way to a No. 1 ranking in Class 3A.

The Lady Rattlers, ranked eighth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, were looking to notch an upset against the Wildcats like they did in district play last year. Tularosa thwarted that with its 25-14, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19 victory Saturday at the Snake Pit.

Tularosa improved to 17-2 overall and took control of District 4 with a 3-0 mark. Haylee Hill had 16 kills, and teammate Bella Bartz added 15.

Tucumcari fell to 9-9, 0-2. Jasmine Jones led the Lady Rattlers with 11 kills and two aces. Aaliyah Brown added three kills, and Amber Owen made two kills and two blocks.

A year ago, Tularosa was favored to win the district but Tucumcari notched a surprise victory, forcing a tiebreaker match in Dexter that the Wildcats won.

Tularosa coach Kyndra Montes partly blamed complacency for that loss, and she was determined to prevent a repeat.

"I told them, 'We did this last year; we're not going to do it again,'" she said. "We came in ready to play, and our girls were focused. I told the girls we passed well and our defense was good, and I think that made the difference."

After Tucumcari held on to win the second game 25-22 thanks in part to blocking by Brown and Owen, Tularosa made adjustments and won the next two games to clinch the match.

"Tularosa covered well, and they beat us on a lot of short tips," Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said. "I thought we defended well against their hitters, but we got caught off-guard on their short tips and a couple of push-overs. We were ready to defend hits and not covering the tips.

"To even beat the No. 1 team in the state in set two is pretty good," she added. "When we play them next time (at Tularosa on Nov. 2), a victory isn't totally out of reach. We have to cut down on the unforced errors and move forward."

Montes' team finished 19-4 last year, and only three varsity players were returning. She said she wasn't surprised how well her team reloaded with new personnel.

"I knew we lost a lot, but I knew we had a lot of potential coming up," she said. "I was expecting us to continue to do well because the younger kids were working hard and were focused."

Before the match, Tucumcari's team honored eight local women who'd survived cancer as far back as 20 years ago - Michelle Flowers, Kaylera Jones, Marcie Marroquin, Jean Taylor, Candelaria Maldonado, Judy Martinez, Sharon LaTouf and Evelyn Otero. A bake sale netted $445 for Flowers and LaTouf, who recently completed their treatments. The events were part of the team's annual Think Pink match where the Lady Rattlers wore pink shirts instead of the usual team colors of purple and gold.

Logan 3, Grady/San Jon 1

Logan made a lot of mistakes but prevailed over district rival Grady/San Jon by a 25-15, 20-25, 26-24, 25-20 score Thursday.

Logan, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A, improved to 16-3 overall and 5-2 in the district. All its losses were to top-ranked Melrose, which finished the week 17-0, 7-0.

"As a team we had 43 attack kills but hurt ourselves with 20 attack errors," Logan coach Robert Young said, adding his Lady Longhorns also committed 19 service errors with 17 aces.

"Grady played solid defense and served tough every set, and we definitely had to earn this win," he said.

Lady Bronchos coach Rebecca Burns said the match "was the best we played them all year, and stealing that (second) set from them was a huge confidence boost for my girls, I think."

"Our block got a lot of good touches, and my hitters were intelligent with their placement of the ball. We missed way too many serves but got some key aces throughout. Logan is tough, and I just thought we battled and made them work hard for the win."

Teryn Foote led Grady/San Jon with 10 kills and four blocks. Hannah Bobbitt added four blocks, 20 assists and 10 digs.

Grady/San Jon 3, Clovis Christian 2

The host Lady Bronchos came from behind to win a marathon district match Friday against Clovis Christian 20-25, 19-25, 25-20, 26-24, 15-8.

Foote led Grady/San Jon with nine kills and three blocks, and Kristin Grau added eight kills. Kassidee Glover added 10 aces.

"I don't think we underestimated them because they were improving every single game," Burns said. "We made way too many errors, but I think I saw some fight in my team. We went down 2-0 and had to battle back. That fourth set, we got down 21-24, and we able to come back. I'm proud of the resiliency my group showed."

The Lady Bronchos improved to 8-10 overall and 2-4 in District 6 by week's end. Clovis Christian was 8-9, 1-6.