Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff photo: Matthew Asher Portales senior Falyn Hamilton goes for a successful kill in the second match against Goddard. Hamilton finished with 10 kills and the Lady Rams won in straight sets.
STAFF WRITER
The last time the Lady Rams volleyball team played someone from Roswell, the results weren’t great, with Portales winning the first set, only to lose the final three against the Coyotes.
On Tuesday against Goddard, Portales wasn’t about to turn in a repeat performance as it swept the Lady Rockets 25-23, 25-18, 25-20 at the Ram Athletic Center.
Staff photo: Matthew Asher
Portales senior Falyn Hamilton goes for a successful kill in the second match against Goddard. Hamilton finished with 10 kills and the Lady Rams won in straight sets.
The opening set was rough for Portales (3-3) as it had to fight from behind to finally tie the set at 22. With the Rams at set point, junior Lindsay Blakey recorded one of her 12 kills to give Portales the first set win.
“We had a few bad passes and hit a couple of balls out that normally aren’t out,” coach Charity Gomez said of the issues in the first set. “Our rhythm was a little slow. Once we started passing and got into our offensive rhythm and that’s where we made our comeback.”
The Lady Rams had little trouble in the second set as they won in convincing fashion 25-18 and looked to have an easier time in the third set, but it was not to be.
After Portales took a commanding 14-6 lead in the third set, Goddard (2-7) fought back, going on a 7-4 run to cut the lead to 18-13. It looked like the comeback was all in vain as the Lady Rams jumped up 24-15. Portales got what its thought was the match-ending kill off a spike by junior Trinity Kizer. It appeared to go off the fingers of a Goddard player, but the referee awarded the point to the Lady Rockets.
The Lady Rams then committed four-straight errors, allowing Goddard to cut the lead to 24-20. Gomez called for time to regroup her team.
“She said to just breathe and to play the game we know how to play,” Portales senior Falyn Hamilton said about the talk in the huddle. “We were giving them points.”
The pep talked worked as Blakey finished the match with another kill. As a team, Portales had 41 kills to go along with 40 assists and 49 digs.
“We played solid,” Gomez said. “I’m very proud of the way our offense is coming along. That all stems from how well we pass and our ball control. As a coach, you strive for your team to do. I want to finish games stronger, but I think that comes with experience.”
Portales has a quick turnaround as it travels to Artesia for a Thursday night match.
