Melrose tops Texico, moves to 11-0

MELROSE — Thanks to Thursday’s torrential downpours, it was not a fit night out for man nor beast.

But since the Melrose volleyball players are neither, it was an OK night. Especially after the Lady Buffaloes rallied from an early deficit to sweep Texico, 26-24, 25-20, 25-15.

Trailing by five in the first set, Melrose battled back. The Lady Buffs prevailed in a close second set, then won more comfortably in the third. They improved to 11-0 by getting steadily better throughout the match.

“Yeah we started slow, had to come back in the first set,” Melrose head coach Casey Jackson said. “But really started rolling there in the second, played pretty well and got momentum going in the third. So I felt like we progressed as the match went on.”

Jackson credited Texico for making the Lady Buffaloes work hard all night.

“They definitely had a game plan coming in, got us out of our system early,” Jackson said. “But we kept battling. That’s the key for us; we just keep at it.”

Melrose’s Nataley Mondragon had 16 kills, five blocks and 22 digs.

“Everyone played solid,” Jackson said, “but she played really well.”

Brette DeVaney added 30 digs and 10 kills for the Lady Buffaloes.

Hailey Martin had five blocks and seven kills for Melrose. Deajha Downey and Anjalina Sanchez contributed seven kills apiece.

Ashley Hill had 11 kills for Texico, while Riley Rohrbach had 11 assists. Sydnee Muse added six kills and six digs.

Melrose visits Grady on Tuesday before hosting Fort Sumner on Thursday.

Texico carried a 6-5 record into Saturday’s late-afternoon home match with Portales. The Lady Wolverines will visit Lovington on Tuesday and Clayton on Thursday.