Lady Cats post district home wins

CLOVIS - Looking to get off to a quick start in District 4-5A play, Clovis High's volleyball team accomplished the first part of the mission on Wednesday night at Rock Staubus Gym.

The Lady Wildcats got the second part done on Thursday.

In a match pushed back a day due to Tuesday's high winds, CHS controlled Carlsbad (2-5, 0-1 district) most of the way in the first two sets, then dug out of an eight-point hole in the third to claim a 25-18, 25-16, 25-20 victory.

It was exactly what coach Darrel Ray was hoping to be able to do.

"We gave the kids a goal of not only trying to win tonight, but to win in three sets so we could be fresher for Hobbs," he said.

It paid off against the Lady Eagles, who erased a two-game deficit to force a fifth set against Clovis before falling 25-12, 27-25, 22-25, 15-25, 15-12 at The Rock.

Against Carlsbad, the Lady Cats trailed only briefly in each of the first two sets, but found themselves down 12-4 in the third. With the score 13-6, senior middle blocker Kiara Cox had a tip-kill to get Clovis the serve back, and with sophomore Giselle Petnir on the line the Lady Cats ran off seven more points - including back-to-back aces and two kills by outside hitter Milli Ratledge - to take the lead.

Petnir was brought up from the junior varsity expressly to give the Lady Cats an extra service threat, and she delivered.

"She's been doing a great job of serving against us in our practices in the mornings," Ray said. "Because she was able to keep (the Cavegirls) out of system, it allowed us to get some good swings."

The teams exchange points for a bit before consecutive tip-kills by senior outside hitter Skyler Jordan opened a 21-16 advantage, and the Lady Cats closed it out from there.

"I'm really excited," said Cox, who posted a match-high eight kills. "We're all on the same page as far as what we want. I think we're in good position."

She said having senior outside hitter/setter Kameron Kelley back after a preseason knee injury has helped. Kelley had 14 assists in the match, to go with two kills and two aces.

"We had to adjust to not having her (for early matches)," Cox said. "But people have really stepped up."

Gracie Eckles, a slight-of-build sophomore outside hitter, led the Cavegirls with seven kills and a couple of blocks. Ray said keeping the athletic Eckles in check was a priority, and they managed to do that.

"We came into the district a little hyped up, but we made a lot of mistakes," Cavegirls coach Bill Niemeier said. "Clovis played well. I thought defensively we were a little slow, but we hope we can get that fixed."

Clovis 3, Hobbs 2 - On Thursday, CHS broke out to a 12-5 lead in the fifth set, helped by two kills and a block from Cabeldue and two kills from senior outside hitter/setter Tabitha Gallegos. Hobbs (2-5, 0-2) got as close as two points twice before another kill by Gallegos ended it.

After alternating wins and losses through the pre-district slate, Clovis has now put together a three-match winning streak.

Gallegos collected 10 kills, 15 digs and 17 assists for the Lady Cats, while senior defensive specialist Janelle Macias had a team-best 22 digs.

"We knew we had to get ahead," Gallegos said of the fifth set. "We just needed to get it done."

Meantime, senior Kaci Cabeldue finished with nine kills and a pair of blocks.

"We knew they were a good team," she said. "We just did what we were supposed to do (down the stretch)."

Clovis hits the road on Saturday for a 2 p.m. district matchup at Roswell High.

Portales splits first district matches - After absorbing its first loss of the season on Tuesday at Roswell Goddard in their District 4-4A opener, the Lady Rams bounced back with a 25-10, 25-11, 25-17 victory at Lovington on Thursday night.

Junior middle blocker Kylyie Paden combined seven kills, four blocks and four assists for Portales (7-1 overall), while junior libero Teagan Faust had 10 digs and three assists against the young and struggling Lady Wildcats (1-7. 0-2).

"We played well," PHS coach Ruth Chavez said. "We had a good serving night and did some good things. We just tried to play our game."

In a match which was competitive throughout, Portales became the first team this season to win a set against Goddard before falling to the Lady Rockets 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19. Goddard (6-0, 2-0) added a four-set home win over Artesia on Thursday night.

"They run a fast offense," Chavez said. "Being able to get some hands on (their attacks) is something we're going to have to work on."

Paden had 13 kills and eight blocks while Rheagan Courtney also collected 13 kills for PHS. Senior setter Mattison Blakey posted team highs of four aces and 21 assists.