Lady Cats drop district opener in 5 at Eldorado

Staff report

ALBUQUERQUE — Clovis High’s volleyball team pulled out a couple of nail-biting sets to give itself a chance on Tuesday, only to come up short.

Eldorado let a two-set lead get away, then pulled away in the final game for a 25-19, 25-22, 24-26, 24-26, 15-6 victory over the Lady Wildcats in the District 2-6A opener for both teams.

In the end, the Lady Cats’ hill was just a bit too big to climb.

“We started off pretty slow, and they started off fast,” CHS coach Gabe Apodaca said. “They had their home crowd behind them.”

The Eagles (6-3) had to be a little nervous to have to go to a fifth set.

“We kept battling,” Apodaca said. “Games 3 and 4 were back-and-forth, (but) I think the stress kind of got to us. We let our nerves get the best of us.”

Junior middle hitter Lexi Cole had 10 kills, four blocks and three aces for the Lady Cats (3-6). Senior outside hitter Brittany Reed had nine kills, two blocks and three aces. Meantime, junior defensive specialist Kyli Osborn compiled 18 digs and junior setter Jada Gillespie had 22 assists.

“It would’ve been easy o just lay down and go home after three sets,” Apodaca said. “I’m proud of the way we came back and gave ourselves a chance in Game 5.

CHS returns to action with a 6 p.m. non-district match on Thursday at Lovington before hosting its first district match of the season, a 2 p.m. start on Saturday against Manzano at Rock Staubus Gym.