Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis High senior libero Aeryanne Conn goes low for a dig during Tuesday's District 4-5A volleyball match against Carlsbad at The Rock. The Lady Wildcats posted a four-set victory over the Cavegirls.
Clovis High's volleyball team put together one of its best runs of the season during Game 2 of Thursday's District 4-5A match against rival Hobbs at Rock Staubus Gym.
Despite that, it took a couple of plays at the end to pull out a two-point win. The Lady Eagles (11-11, 4-1 district) rebounded over the final two sets to complete a 25-17, 25-27, 25-20, 25-12 victory to stay tied for the district lead with Roswell High (13-9, 4-1), which dispatched Carlsbad (6-15, 0-5) on Thursday.
"I thought we battled for three games," CHS coach Cristy Hill said. "It was like after we lost the third one and then they got a couple of points (in Game 4), we kind of lost faith."
Junior middle blocker Jayla David was Hobbs' main weapon with 16 kills and a block. She got plenty of support from junior outside hitter/middle blocker Kyndle Cunningham with 12 kills.
"She's so athletic," Lady Eagles coach Savannah Stockton said of David. "I thought everyone who went in tonight contributed something good."
Senior outside hitter Kailyn Jefferson had a solid night for Clovis with nine kills and 12 digs, to go along with a block, but the Lady Eagles pulled away late in the third, finishing the set on a 4-1 run.
The Lady Cats were within 10-6 in the fourth frame before Hobbs went on an 8-1 run to all but end it.
Hobbs had a 12-4 margin in aces, led by senior setter Madeline Lentz with four and Cunningham with three.
"We're not very big," Hill said. "One of our goals was to not let Jayla tip us to death, because at Hobbs she did that. So we did make that adjustment."
Junior Maricella Gutierrez came off the bench to deliver seven kills for the Lady Cats, including five during their Game 2 win. Senior libero Aeryanne Conn had 14 digs for CHS, while junior setter Amanda De La Rosa posted 24 assists.
CHS kept the first game close for a while, but faded late. Then the Lady Cats went on a 7-0 run for a 7-1 lead, with two kills each from Gutierrez and Jefferson and one from senior middle hitter Elizabeth Warwick.
"We dug a hole in that second set," Stockton said. "But then we got back into it."
Hobbs didn't get closer than six until a 6-0 burst that include two kills and two aces from Cunningham. It was tied at 24-24 and 25-25 before kills from Warwick and De La Rosa ended it.
CHS wraps up the regular campaign on Tuesday at Roswell High.
Clovis 3, Carlsbad 1 (Tuesday) – The Lady Cats got a double-double from Jefferson and turned back the Cavegirls (6-14, 0-4) at The Rock.
Jefferson posted 14 kills and 11 digs, to go along with a team-best five aces. Led by senior outside hitter/libero Annika Sowers, Carlsbad dominated Game 2 to square the match before Clovis quickly regained control.
"We had more kills (than in the previous two matches), which was huge," Hill said. "We also served really well at times."
Freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist Jecenia Jimenez was second to Jefferson in kills with nine, while senior middle hitter Elizabeth Warwick added five kills, three aces and the team's only block of the contest.
Senior libero Aeryanne Conn had a team-high 17 digs while senior defensive specialist Brienne Romero also had 11. Junior setter Amanda De La Rosa piled up 33 assists.
