Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
SANTA FE — Just call them the Cardiac Kids.
Clovis’ volleyball team, with little room for error as it chases a Class 6A playoff berth, pulled out a huge win over Santa Fe on the road Saturday afternoon.
Down 0-2 in sets, the Lady Wildcats won the next two, forcing a decisive fifth set. And there, they toughed out a 16-14 win to take the match 3-2.
It was the Lady Wildcats’ second win in a row following a five-game losing streak, improving them to 10-7 overall, 3-5 in the all-important district competition. As the Lady ’Cats continued grinding toward the regular-season finish line, they got a big one Saturday. The win broke a tie with Santa Fe for fourth place in the district.
After the regular season ends, the third and fourth seeds will host first-round district tournament games Nov. 1, followed by the top two seeds hosting the winners Nov. 3. The district championship match will be Nov. 4 at the highest remaining seed.
Santa Fe took the first set 25-22 and the second 25-21. Close scores, but losses for Clovis nonetheless.
The Lady Wildcats then gut-checked their way to a 25-20 third-set victory to stay alive, then carried their momentum into the fourth set and won fairly handily, 25-16.
“It was huge,” Clovis coach Ruth Chavez said of the comeback. “Our first two games, we didn’t do some of the things we needed to do to win. We always have to believe there’s hope. We got the third game, and once we got that behind us things started happening.”
It came down to the fifth. First one to 15 wins, but you have to win by two or more. Clovis needed to reach a 16th point to do that, but finally got it done.
Lexi Cole paced the ’Cats with 23 kills, to go with seven digs, two blocks and an ace.
Kyli Osborn also had a big day for Clovis, notching 22 digs, two kills and an ace.
Sydni Hill added 15 digs and an ace, following up her six-ace performance in Tuesday’s sweep of Manzano. Jada Gillespie chipped in with 13 digs, two aces, two kills and a block. Kassidy Furrow had 10 kills, eight digs and an ace. Katie Kelley supplied six digs and an ace.
The Lady ’Cats will try to keep it going Tuesday when they hit the road again, this time for a match against Sandia, beginning at 6 p.m.
They return home next Saturday to close out the regular season against La Cueva at Rock Staubus Gymnasium. Game time is 2 p.m.
