Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis High eighth-grader Jaya Gonzales takes a hit from Roswell High freshman midfielder Emily Macias as the two fight for control of the ball during Tuesday's District 4-5A girls soccer match at Leon Williams Stadium. The visiting Lady Coyotes won 2-1.
MELROSE – They've got a ways to go to return to the glory days of seven consecutive state small-school volleyball championships (2010-16), but it's clear the Elida Lady Tigers are headed in the right direction.
Still, Melrose has been the dominant program in this decade, winning three of the last four Class 1A titles, and the Lady Buffs handed Elida a 25-18, 25-15, 25-23 District 4-1A setback on Thursday night to move ahead of the Lady Tigers for the early lead in the district.
"They're a good team," said Lady Buffs coach Casey Jackson, who has won five state titles and finished runnerup five times in his 10 seasons as coach. "Coming in, we knew we were going to have a battle."
After falling behind 5-0 in the first set, Melrose (10-3, 2-0 district), ranked second in 1A behind Logan by MaxPreps, pulled even at 7-7 on a block by senior middle blocker Kambree Draper. The Lady Buffs took the lead for good on an ace by eighth-grader Braylan Morgan and pulled away down the stretch.
Draper posted four kills and two blocks in the opening set.
"They've improved a lot," she said of the Lady Tigers. "They had a lot of fight. We just kept battling."
Melrose rode two kills from Morgan to a quick 5-0 lead in Game 2 and won going away, but in the third set the Lady Buffs had a tough time shaking Elida (12-4, 2-1). Trailing 24-19, the Lady Tigers used two Melrose misplays and consecutive blocks by junior setter Charity Smith and sophomore outside hitter Addison Yates to pull within one before Draper's kill ended it.
While Melrose's roster includes six seniors, the Lady Tigers have no seniors and just four juniors on their 13-player roster.
"We got beat by a good team," Elida coach Darrell Chenault said. "They're just strong in all aspects."
Junior outside hitter Hally Draper – Kambree's cousin – led Melrose with eight kills while Morgan and senior middle blocker Chantzee Elliott had seven apiece. Kambree Draper finished with three of the Lady Buffs' five blocks while Hally Draper notched three of the team's seven aces.
Sophomore setter Kailey Jackson posted 31 assists, while Hally and Kambree Draper had 14 and 12 digs, respectively, and senior defensive specialist Eden Lunsford added 11.
"We made a couple of changes that seemed to help us," Casey Jackson said. "We had some dips in focus tonight, but overall I thought we played solid."
Junior outside hitter Hattie Bilbrey and sophomore middle blocker Kembri Norman collected five kills apiece for the Lady Tigers, and Norman had two of the team's three blocks.
The rematch at Elida is on tap for Oct. 29. Meantime, Melrose travels to Dora and Elida hosts Gateway Christian in district clashes on Tuesday.
