Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CNJ staff photo: Tony Bullocks Clovis High junior setter Jada Gillespie passes the ball to the front row as sophomore Brooklyn Hatley watches during the first set of Tuesday’s District 2-6A volleyball match against Santa Fe High on Tuesday night at The Rock. The Lady Wildcats won in four sets and will play at third-seeded Eldorado in the next round tonight.
Staff report
On their way to an apparent easy win in Tuesday’s opening round of the District 2-6A volleyball tournament, the Clovis High Lady Wildcats suddenly had a fight on their hands.
link CNJ staff photo: Tony Bullocks
Clovis High junior setter Jada Gillespie passes the ball to the front row as sophomore Brooklyn Hatley watches during the first set of Tuesday’s District 2-6A volleyball match against Santa Fe High on Tuesday night at The Rock. The Lady Wildcats won in four sets and will play at third-seeded Eldorado in the next round tonight.
Already down two games to none and trailing 11-4 in the third, Santa Fe High rallied to nearly take it the distance before the Lady Cats closed out a 25-13, 25-18, 23-25, 26-24 win at Rock Staubus Gym.
Junior middle hitter Lexi Cole collected 19 kills, four blocks and five aces as the fourth-seeded Lady Cats (8-13) advanced to a match today against third-seeded Eldorado in Albuquerque. The Eagles beat Manzano in three games on Tuesday.
Junior setter Jada Gillespie added a season-high 30 assists, and junior libero Kyli Osborn had 21 digs.
The Lady Cats and Lady Demons (6-15) had split a pair of five-set matches in regular-season play, each winning on the other’s court. The teams tied for fourth in the district, but Clovis outscored Santa Fe High by three points in the two matches to get the tiebreaker and homecourt advantage.
“In this district, nothing is easy,” CHS coach Gabe Apodaca said. “We’ll possibly have three of the top five teams in the state when the (seeding for next week’s Class 6A state meet) comes out (on Sunday).”
Freshman outside hitter Salome Romp helped bring the Lady Demons back with six kills in the third set. Clovis led again 12-8 and and 15-10 in the fourth, but Santa Fe High rallied back to tie it at 24-24 before two Lady Demons errors ended it.
“Even when we got down, we stayed together and played for each other,” Apodaca said. “Our serve-receive was on-point today, and that really helps our offense.”
