Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Logan's Camryn Cantrell (5) and Haylie Bidegain (12) try to block the shot of a Legacy Academy attacker during a Class 1A tournament match Friday at Rio Rancho High School.
RIO RANCHO - Logan's volleyball team surged to a double-digit lead in the first set of its match Friday against Legacy Academy and seemed poised for a victory and a semifinal berth in the Class 1A tournament.
Then the roof fell in.
The Lady Longhorns blew that lead, then another sizable one in the third set, during a 25-27, 13-25, 25-27 loss at Rio Rancho High School, knocking them out of the tournament.
Sixth-seeded Logan finished 18-9 overall.
Albuquerque-based Legacy, a fourth seed, fell in its semifinal to eventual state champion Gateway Christian to finish 23-4. The Silverbacks are only in their third season of membership in the New Mexico Activities Association.
Logan coach Glynna Strand, finishing her first season as head coach, noted her team lacks seniors and blamed inexperience and "weak minds" for the loss.
"We're young, and the girls aren't tough yet," she said. "We make a couple of mistakes, and we just sit there, think about it and not get over it. Then it's one mistake after another after another after another."
The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Lady Longhorns after a promising showing. Logan in five sets defeated Alamo Navajo, an 11th seed that became a tournament Cinderella and advanced to the semifinals, in the first round Thursday. The Lady Longhorns played tough against third-seeded Animas but lost in four sets.
Logan faced a grueling trek of winning three matches in one day in the losers' bracket Friday to get to Saturday's Final Four.
The Lady Longhorns seemed up to the task, knocking off Springer and Quemado each in three sets before the evening match against Legacy.
In the first set, Logan went on a 7-1 run to take a 20-10 lead against the Silverbacks. That prompted Legacy coach Brooklyne Sandoval to take a timeout.
"I pulled the girls, told them to go back to basics, go back to fundamentals, and play hard," she recalled.
Sandoval said she told her team: "You guys were the fourth seed for a reason; play hard and show everybody why we're the fourth seed."
She credited sophomore setter and co-captain Davina Griffis for getting her team "excited and ready to play."
Freshman middle hitter Joslyn Alvarado also played a huge role, totaling six of her team-high 11 kills and a block during the Silverbacks' 17-5 run.
Logan once led 24-16, but Legacy repelled the winning point eight times. The Lady Longhorns finally notched a point to tie it 25-25 on a kill by Lizzy Horner.
Legacy responded with a kill by Griffis and an ace by Jasmine Contreras to notch the win.
The Lady Longhorns continued to slump during the second-set loss, falling behind 14-3.
Logan seemed to have righted the ship by the third set, taking a 17-12 lead.
Legacy rallied to tie it, and both teams' scoring went back and forth.
Logan took a 24-22 lead and had the ball, but Legacy repelled the Lady Longhorns' attempts to force a fourth set.
Finally, the Silverbacks broke a 25-25 tie with a successive kills by Grace Green and Briley Boll to capture the match.
Legacy dominated at the net, with 36 kills to Logan's 19. Natalie Bongers led the Lady Longhorns with six kills.
With no seniors, the Lady Longhorns should be a team to watch next season - not that Strand thought this season was bad by any stretch.
"I'm proud of them," she said. "It was a new team with a bunch of new girls that hardly ever played in the state tournament before. They were a little shaky when they started, but with each game, they picked it up."
