Lady Cats swept out of playoffs

CARLSBAD — Clovis used late runs to beat Carlsbad in three games at home two weeks ago.

But on Wednesday, it was the Cavegirls who feed off late runs and the home crowd en route to a 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 win in the first round of the District 4-5A volleyball tournament.

The loss means Clovis (6-15) will miss the state tournament in six years under coach Darrel Ray. Carlsbad (11-12) travels to Cibola at 6 p.m. today with a spot in the state tournament and in the district finals on the line.

The games were tied at 23, 21 and 22, respectively, before Carlsbad won out.

“That’s the difference in earning and staying home. Maybe a little more cheers from the crowd and a little shorter bus trip and maybe we win those points,” Ray said.

Lauren Berning led the fourth-seeded Lady Cats with 10 kills, Roxy Luera added eight and Siobhan Flatow five.

Coaches and players for the third-seeded Cavegirls said defense made the difference.

“They were digging everything,” Carlsbad coach Doug Lynn said. “These kids were going to the floor on everything you could imagine. They dug almost every ball they got hit at them. Tianna Rodriguez had one of the most remarkable nights that she has had in here career at this gym digging balls. She was digging everything.”

“Some of those balls, I didn’t think we were going to touch at all. It was amazing,” Rodriguez said.

She added that she thought the team’s intensity surprised the Lady Wildcats.

“It was amazing. We have never played that hard before. We were so full of adrenaline. Everyone was ready to win. We just went after it,” she said.

“They just played with a little more confidence,” Ray said. “They won a few more scrambles and made a few less mistakes,” he said. “They just outplayed us tonight plain and simple ... They were vastly improved from when we played them in Clovis.”

Micah Pruett led Carlsbad with 10 kills and five blocks.

Jason P. Montoya of the Carlsbad Current-Argus contributed to this report.