Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
RIO RANCHO – Graci Odom has enjoyed a lot of success in five seasons with the Melrose volleyball team – not the least of which is three Class 1A state championships.
The top-seeded Lady Buffs finished the mission on Saturday night, topping rival Gateway Christian 25-20, 25-12, 25-22 for the title at Rio Rancho Events Center. That gave Melrose (24-3) a 2-1 edge for the season over the fourth-seeded Lady Warriors (23-5), and also avenged a loss to Gateway in last year’s 1A final.
Meantime, Texico captured its first state title since 2019 in Class 2A, beating Menaul 25-22, 25-11, 25-18 in the semifinals before subduing Tularosa 25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 25-18 in the championship match. It was the second win of the weekend over both for the Lady Wolverines (23-4), who like Melrose finished second at state in 2022.
By her standards, Odom had a somewhat modest stat line in the 1A final – 14 kills, 20 digs and one block. But the Lady Buffs were in control most of the way, giving coach Casey Jackson his fifth state crown in 10 seasons at the helm.
“We played some really good volleyball up here,” Jackson said. “We served really well, and we blocked really well. We just peaked at the right time.”
In the semifinals, Odom notched 11 kills, 21 digs and a whopping eight service aces as Melrose earned a 25-22, 25-20, 25-11 over Albuquerque-based Legacy Academy (22-5), the third seed. Junior libero Tenley Trollinger had 17 digs while senior setter Kye Saulsberry notched four aces and 29 assists.
While the Lady Buffs had dropped two of their final five regular-season matches coming in, Odom echoed her coach’s sentiment.
“I thought we peaked at the right time,” she said. “We just wanted it from the very beginning.”
Junior middle blocker Kambree Draper added 12 kills and five blocks in the win over Gateway. Saulsberry had nine digs and 37 assists while Trollinger and junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Kinlee Bradley added 30 and 16 digs, respectively.
“Everybody knew what their role was,” Odom said. “We could really enjoy these final matches together.”
Texico, seeded second in 2A, was in control in both Saturday matches, except for Game 3 against Tularosa. Sophomore outside hitter/middle hitter Kinzee Crow, had 23 kills and junior outside hitter Aspyn Furrow added 18 kills and 20 digs against No. 3 seed Tularosa (19-9), which suffered its third loss of the season to the Lady Wolverines.
“This season was great,” second-year Texico coach Gabe Jones said. “We knew we were going to be good when we went to a tournament at Moriarty in the summer and won it.
“We got through the season with very little drama. People accepted their roles, and we had people who grew as leaders.”
Senior setter Ella Collins collected 20 digs and a season-best 45 assists, while senior Sonia Ortiz and junior Abby Haakma chipped in 14 digs apiece. Outside hitter/middle blocker Kaya New had four blocks, while senior defensive specialist Taylee Sours delivered two of the team’s three service aces.
“Taylee Sours did a good job,” Jones said. “We served well the entire season, and we were able to get teams out of system.”
In the semifinal victory over seventh-seeded Menaul (18-9), Furrow notched 10 kills and eight digs, Crow posted nine kills and Collins had 25 assists, two aces and a block.
