Lady Rams bully Lady Bulldogs

ARTESIA — The Portales Lady Ram volleyball team concluded its non-district schedule Thursday night in Artesia, dominating the Lady Bulldogs 25-12, 25-15, 25-18.

“They played great,” Lady Ram head coach Ruth Chavez said. “We had a heck of a game. They played really well.”

“I could tell we’ve improved a lot (since the last meeting with Artesia),” Chavez said. “It showed tonight. Everything was kind of clicking, and just looked good.”

Thursday’s match completed a two-match season sweep of Artesia. Last month, the Lady Rams won a five-game match against Artesia at Portales.

“We weren’t as far along as we are (now) in what we had to get done,” Chavez said. “We were just getting our defense working back then. If I remember right, it was kind of a struggle at times.”

While her girls dominated Thursday night, Chavez knows Portales can keep getting better during the district schedule.

“We still have room for a lot of improvement,” Chavez said. “I see improvement every day. We stepped out today and took it to them, we didn’t play around and let them in. They just went out there and got the job done and I was really pleased with every one of them.”

The Portales girls (13-8, 1-0) begin their final stretch of District 4-3A games Tuesday night in Lovington (7 p.m.), before hosting Dexter on Thursday.

“It’s finally coming together,” Chavez said. “Kids are learning their positions and they’re doing their jobs and playing really well as a team. We’re just getting better.”