Volleyball roundup: Texico builds momentum

TEXICO - Texico's volleyball team is a defending state champion, and the Lady Wolverines would love to win another title.

That may be difficult, considering how inexperienced this year's team has been. But, Texico at least took another step in its maturation, another step in evolving this past Thursday when hosting and beating Santa Rosa 3-1, with scores of 25-12, 25-17, 18-25, 25-19.

That improved the Lady Wolverines to 11-6, 3-0 in District 7-2A, as they head into the regular season's home stretch.

Texico head coach Kristen Scanlan knew she was working with a young team when the season began in August. As of Thursday's victory at Texico High School, she was happy with her team's progress.

"We've grown up a lot," Scanlan said. "The kids that didn't get a lot of court time last year stepped up. ... They've done a good job growing together as a team, not just individuals."

"I feel like we've improved a lot," said Wolverines senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Ashley Hill, who had 15 digs, 13 kills and one block Thursday. "We didn't know how to play with each other when we started playing (this season). Now we do. It just helps us trust each other more."

The Lady Wolverines seemed like they might breeze to a sweep Thursday after notching a 13-point victory in the first set and bagging the second set by an eight-point margin.

But facing a chance to sweep, Texico couldn't take advantage and lost 25-18.

"We got sloppy," Scanlan said. "I felt we were a little sloppy in the third set."

"In the third set we fell a little because of our energy," Hill said.

The Lady Wolverines regained control in the fourth set, though Santa Rosa made it dicey. Texico built a double-digit advantage, 22-12, before the Lady Lions roared back to win four straight points, the fourth in that run coming on an Alexis Baca kill.

Texico went up 23-16 on a Sydnee Muse kill, but an Elyse Chavez kill brought Santa Rosa within six again.

Texico moved a point away from victory (24-17) on a shot that the Lady Lions couldn't return. But Santa Rosa took the next two – on a shot that Texico was unable to return and a Summer Storey block.

The Lady Wolverines, however, then closed it out somewhat unceremoniously – on a Santa Rosa service error.

It was bumpy for a little while, but turned out OK for Texico.

"Obviously the sets we won, we played a little bit better," Scanlan said.

"I think that we battled," Hill said. "That's a good win for us."

Rachel Phipps had 14 assists, 11 kills and four aces for the Lady Wolverines. Riley Rohrbach added 17 assists, eight kills and an ace for Texico.

Macki Bilbrey contributed 14 digs, Grace McDaniel 12 digs. Muse had nine kills, and Gemma Martin had four blocks and two kills.

The Lady Lions dropped to 11-6, 1-2 district, heading into Saturday's road game at Clayton.

Texico, meanwhile, kept its all-important district mark unblemished, and will be off until this coming Thursday's 5:30 p.m. road match against Pecos (14-2, 2-1). The matches are becoming even more and more crucial as the season winds down, but the Lady Wolverines aren't flinching.

"I think we're capable of beating any team," Hill said, "as long as we play together."

Tuesday

There was plenty of local action Tuesday night, with Portales and Melrose keeping their feet on the pedals, as each won its 14th in a row.

Melrose 3, Tucumcari 0

MELROSE – The Lady Buffaloes pushed their record to 14-0 Tuesday night while sweeping their seventh straight opponent, this time Tucumcari by 25-16, 25-12, 25-13 scores at the Melrose High School gym.

The Lady Buffs have not lost a set since Sept. 19, when they beat Hagerman 3-1 on the road. That was only the third time Melrose lost a set this season, the other two coming in 3-1 victories at Friona (Aug. 27) and against Logan in the Fort Sumner Tournament (Sept. 14).

Junior Hailey Martin had a great all-around night Tuesday, recording 22 digs, 11 kills, two blocks and an ace.

Junior Pyper Belcher also made her presence felt, contributing 22 assists, eight digs and two aces.

Senior Nataley Mondragon added 12 kills, 10 digs, three blocks and an ace. Senior Brette DeVaney supplied 16 digs, 10 kills, two aces and a block. And senior Deajha Downey had 12 kills, four digs and a block.

Other noteworthy numbers were: 20 assists by sophomore Johanna Roybal, 10 digs and three aces by freshman Isabelle Sena, and two aces notched by junior Anjalina Sanchez.

The Lady Buffaloes, who visited Logan on Saturday afternoon, will play at Clovis Christian on Tuesday, with match time slated for 5:30 p.m.

Roswell 3, Clovis 1

CLOVIS - The Lady Wildcats jumped out to a fine start Tuesday night.

But, their finish was another matter.

Clovis edged Roswell 25-22 in the first set of Tuesday's District 4-5A match at Rock Staubus Gymnasium. The Lady Coyotes, however, then won the next set 25-13.

The following two sets were close, but both won by Roswell 25-22 and 25-20.

As a result, Clovis fell to 0-3 district, 5-11 overall. The Lady Coyotes stayed unbeaten in district, for the moment, improving to 3-0, but they lost Thursday's road match to Goddard 3-2 and suffered their first district loss while dropping to 10-8 overall.

Despite Tuesday's loss, Clovis posted some solid stats: Kameron Kelley had 16 digs, eight kills and three aces; Janelle Macias had 25 digs; Kiara Cox had eight kills; Tabatha Gallegos had 14 digs, seven kills and three aces; Hannah Gallegos had nine digs and two aces; Kaci Cabeldue had six kills; and Cady Ratledge had an ace.

Clovis will host Carlsbad on Tuesday, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Portales 3, Goddard 0

PORTALES – The Lady Rams improved to 14-1 Tuesday night, winning 14 straight after dropping their season opener to Hobbs.

Portales beat Goddard 25-17, 25-20, 25-23 at the Ram Athletic Center, marking the Lady Rams' eighth consecutive sweep. They haven't lost a set since Sept. 17, when they beat Roswell 3-2 on the road.

No further information was available.

The Lady Rams, who hosted Lovington on Saturday afternoon, will visit Artesia on Tuesday, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Texico 3, Estancia 0

ESTANCIA – The Lady Wolverines took to the road Tuesday and swept Estancia, 25-17, 25-12, 25-16.

Rohrbach had 11 kills, eight assists, two aces and two digs. Hill added nine digs, eight kills and four aces.

Muse had five kills, five digs and three aces. And Martin supplied five kills and two blocks.