Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PHS junior Skyler Massey goes low to dig up a Lovington attack during Thursday's District 4-4A volleyball match at the RAC. Massey had 13 kills as the Lady Rams won in three sets.
PHS sophomore Ainsley Horton and senior Erin Van Leuven go up to contest a Lovington attack during Thursday's tilt.
Coming off their biggest win of the season, there was no letup on Thursday night for Portales High's volleyball team.
The Lady Rams, who upended longtime nemesis Artesia on the road on Tuesday, cruised past winless Lovington 25-11, 25-10, 25-6 in District 4-4A action at the Ram Athletic Center.
Junior Skyler Massey collected 15 kills while senior setter Myleigh Banda fell just short of a double-double with nine digs and 23 assists for the Lady Rams (12-7, 2-0 district), currently ranked fourth in 4A by MaxPreps.
Second-year PHS coach Bailey Greenwalt said her team has recovered from a mid-season slide.
"We had five losses in a row, and they were against good teams," she said. "But it tells me it's made us better."
All 13 players in uniform saw plenty of floor time against the winless Lady Wildcats (0-19, 0-2). Portales has the early lead in the district after Artesia rebounded on Thursday night with a win over Roswell Goddard.
"I think we're in a good spot," Greenwalt said. "It helps that Artesia beat Goddard.
"Everybody got in tonight, but we stayed focused the whole way."
PHS plays at Goddard on Tuesday night, then hosts Artesia on Thursday.
Portales 3, Artesia 2 (Tuesday) – PHS actually posted its second win of the season over the Lady Bulldogs, rallying for a 22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 12-25, 15-7 victory at Artesia. They also won in five over the Lady Bulldogs (10-9, 1-1) in a tournament at Goddard earlier this month.
Massey compiled 23 kills, 10 digs, four aces and a block in the seesaw match. Banda chipped in 37 assists and 10 digs, senior Angel Ornelas delivered 16 digs and a couple of aces and senior Tya Rippee added 10 digs and two aces.
"It's a good win to have," Greenwalt said. "We did a lot of little things right."
The first set was tied 20-20 before the Lady Bulldogs pulled away. In Game 2, PHS trailed by four points before closing it out with a 19-8 surge, then led all the way in the fourth.
Artesia wiped out a four-point deficit in the fourth set with an 8-0 run, but the Lady Rams used a late 4-0 run to put the fifth set away.
"The girls have a goal in mind," Greenwalt said. "They don't want to just win the district; they want to go 6-0."
Soccer – The PHS girls ended their season on a winning note on Thursday, posting a 4-1 victory over Lovington in District 4-4A play at the PHS pitch.
Senior Kadynce Reeves and junior Maria Lujan each tallied twice for the Lady Rams (6-11, 1-5), who avenged an earlier loss at Lovington and pulled even with the Lady Wildcats (2-16, 1-5) in the district standings.
"It was a great way to end the season and send our (three) seniors out," first-year PHS coach Laci Lozoya said. "I'm happy they got to end on a good note."
Lujan scored twice in the first half, once off an assist from sophomore Natalie Tirado, as Portales opened a 3-0 halftime advantage.
Junior goalkeeper Lissette Gomez posted eight saves for the Lady Rams.
Meantime, the PHS boys ended their campaign at 4-14 (0-6) with a 6-1 district home loss to Lovington on Tuesday. Junior Dylan Gallegos led the district-winning Wildcats (11-8, 6-0) with a hat trick, and also assisted on two of the team's other three goals.
