Lady Cats win at Lovington in three sets

LOVINGTON – Clovis High’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to five matches with a 25-17, 25-189, 27-25 victory over Lovington on Thursday night.

The Lady Wildcats (7-2) were slated to visit Albuquerque on Saturday to take on Del Norte and Highland in matches at Highland H.S. Their next outing is a 6:30 p.m. tiff on Tuesday against Roswell Goddard at The Rock.

Senior outside hitter Kailyn Jefferson had a double-double with 14 kills and 14 digs for the Lady Cats, but coach Cristy Hill said she struggled at times.

“Some other girls were able to come up and take a little pressure off her,” Hill said, noting that juniors Brooke Renteria and Amanda De La Rosa finished with seven kills apiece.

“We still served the ball really good,” Hill said. “And I thought we serve-received pretty well.”

In Games 1 and 2, the Lady Cats led most of the way, but the third set was more or a struggle. Lovington (1-7) actually had set point twice, but Clovis scored the final three points capped by junior Jori Mondragon’s ace on match point.

Senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Aeryanne Conn led four Lady Cats in double-figure digs with 25, while De La Rosa also collected 14 and senior libero/defensive specialist Brienne Romero added 12. Conn and Mondragon each finished with three aces, while De La Rosa also earned a double-double with 30 assists.

Portales 3, Ruidoso 0 (Tuesday) – Senior Audrey Paden combined nine kills and three assists as the Lady Rams improved to 6-2 with a road win against the Lady Warriors (2-3).

Sophomore Skyler Massey added eight kills, while seniors Alondra Acosta and junior Angel Ornelas chipped in eight digs apiece. Senior Brenna Jewell compiled 16 assists and senior Brenna Jewell 11, junior Mariah Velasco had four aces and Paden and junior Evannie Fulfer each had a block.

Despite the relatively close scores, Lady Rams coach Bailey Greenwalt said she thought her team had a good handle on things.

“I felt like we controlled the (match),” Greenwalt said. “They (Lady Warriors) just play an unorthodox style.”

Portales returns to action at home on Monday against Roswell High. The Lady Coyotes downed PHS in four sets on Sept. 14 in Roswell.