Texico second in Moriarty event

MORIARTY – Texico’s volleyball team reached the finals of the Moriarty Invitational on Saturday, only to lose to St. Michael’s 25-22, 25-12, 17-25, 25-20 in the championship match.

The 16-team tournament was broken into four-team pools for seeding into bracket play. Both Portales and Clovis finished third in their respective pools, with the Lady Rams coming back to take the consolation championship (ninth place) and the Lady Wildcats finishing 11th.

Junior Marissa Sandoval-Moya paced the Class 3A top-ranked Lady Horsemen (6-0) in the finals with 23 kills and 31 assists, while senior Alana Overton had 18 kills. Coming into the match, St. Mike’s had lost just one set this season.

For Texico (4-1), ranked second in Class 2A by MaxPreps, junior Adalyn Autrey notched 11 kills and three blocks, junior Desiree Holman collected 17 digs and senior Ella Collins posted 29 assists.

“It was a good tournament for us,” second-year Lady Wolverines coach Gabe Jones said. “You’re not going to get better without playing better teams. It helps us be prepared for everything that comes along in November (post-season).”

In Friday’s quarterfinal round, Texico outlasted Hot Springs 21-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 15-9 before sweeping Albuquerque Academy 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 in Saturday’s semifinals.

Junior Aspyn Furrow had nine kills, sophomore Kinzee Corw added nine kills and two blocks and junior Adalyn Autrey notched eight kills and three blocks against Hot Springs, while junior Abby Haakma had 10 aces and Collins posted a double-double with 18 digs and 29 assists.

“It was good to see the girls come back against Hot Springs,” Jones said. “It was good for our confidence.”

Against Academy, Furrow had 12 kills and two blocks, Autrey five kills and four blocks and Collins 29 assists, 12 digs and three aces.

Texico, one of only two Class 2A schools in an otherwise 3A-5A field, was second on a points tiebreaker to Sandia Prep in Pool C, finishing 5-1 after sweeping Bernalillo 25-15, 25-12 and Clovis 25-23, 25-18 and splitting sets with the Sundevils 25-19, 15-25. Meantime, Clovis lost to Sandia Prep 16-25, 24-26 and swept Bernalillo 25-13, 25-17.

Portales (5-1) beat Carlsbad 25-21, 27-25, 25-11 in Friday’s consolation quarterfinals, then whipped Thoreau 25-22, 25-11, 25-13 and Manzano 21-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-20 on Saturday.

“We had a rough Friday serving, but we took advantage of what we could in bracket play,” PHS coach Bailey Greenwalt said. “There was a lot of growth. When you play that much volleyball, there’s a lot of learning.”

Senior Audrey Paden and sophomore Skyler Massey had 24 kills apiece in the Lady Rams’ three bracket matches while junior Myleigh Banda collected 55 assists, posting a double-double (12 digs, 13 assists) against Carlsbad.

The Lady Rams missed the championship bracket on a tie-breaker, losing out for second place by one point to Pojoaque.

Clovis (3-2) advanced to the consolation semifinals with a 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11 win over the host Lady Pintos. On Saturday, the Lady Cats were edged by Manzano 25-20, 21-25. 20-25. 25-17, 15-13 before coming back to sweep Thoreau 25-14, 25-13, 25-19.

“We can play with anybody, but we have to get more mentally tough,” CHS coach Cristy Hill said.

Senior outside hitter Kailyn Jefferson led Clovis in kills in all three bracket matches, finishing with 43, while senior libero Brienne Romero posted 54 digs, including 19 against Moriarty and 22 against Manzano. Junior setter Amanda De La Rosa had 54 assists in the three matches, while senior Erin Creasy finished with 18 assists against Thoreau and 41 in total.

Clovis was slated to entertain Lubbock Estacado while Portales traveled to Roswell High on Tuesday. The Lady Cats play in Roswell’s Zia Classic this weekend, while next up for the Lady Rams is a trip to Ruidoso on Tuesday.

Texico returns to action on Thursday at Logan.