Vega, Friona deal setbacks to Lady Rams

FRIONA – Suffice it to say, it was a long day for Portales High’s volleyball team on Tuesday.

Playing in what was essentially a triangular, the Lady Rams had to wait around for Vega and Friona to complete a five-set marathon, won by the host Squaws. They then went five sets before losing to the Lady Longhorns 26-24, 27-25, 23-25, 19-25, 15-8.

In the finale, Friona (23-6) notches a 25-13, 25-23, 25-22 win over PHS.

Friona is ranked 30th out of 175 Class 3A schools in Texas, while Vega (24-5) is 17th out of nearly 150 Class 2A contingents.

Still, PHS coach Bailey Greenwalt said her team didn’t quite play up to snuff.

“There were some really good things, but we’re still trying to break through some bad habits,” she said. “We got better. We’re a better team today than we were yesterday.”

Junior middle hitter Skyler Massey posted some big numbers again for the Lady Rams (5-5) with a personal-best 30 kills, four blocks and 14 digs against Vega and nine kills and two blocks against Friona. Senior setter Myleigh Banda had 40 digs and 55 assists against the Lady Longhorns and 19 and 17, respectively, against Friona while senior Angel Ornelas added 21 digs against Vega and 12 against Friona.

Also in the five-setter against Vega, senior outside hitter Erin Van Leuven notched eight kills while sophomore Annaleah Lujan posted four kills and two blocks. Ornelas chipped in 25 digs and senior defensive specialist totaled 14 in that match, while Lujan posted four kills and Rippee had 12 digs against Friona.

PHS hosted the Peyton Chavez Invitational over the weekend at the RAC. The Lady Rams will play in a tournament hosted by Roswell Goddard this weekend.

Soccer – PHS soccer squads didn’t have much luck on the road on Thursday, dropping identical 5-0 decisions for the girls at Ruidoso and for the boys in their District 4-4A opener at Roswell Goddard.

In fact, both Goddard (5-10, 1-0 district) and Ruidoso (6-5-1) took 3-0 leads into halftime.

Freshman forward/midfielder Jackeline Segovia led the Lady Warriors with a hat trick and an assist. Freshman forward/midfielder Evelyn Medrano added a goal and an assist.

Both teams had matches on Saturday in Roswell, with the girls (5-6) opening district play against Goddard and the boys (4-7) taking on Roswell High in non-district play. Next up for both are home district matches against Artesia at the PHS pitch, the boys playing at 3 p.m. on Tuesday and the girls at 3 p.m. on Friday.