Clovis volleyball team plays well, despite loss

CLOVIS — Don't let the numbers fool you.

Yes, Clovis' volleyball team has endured most of its losses in the season's second half, seeing an 8-2 record turn into 10-9 in a matter of weeks. But, the Lady Wildcats have actually gotten better, played better, during that stretch. The latter half of their season has been like golfing the back nine, hitting the ball straighter, longer, only to see the scores worsen because of more dog-legs, sand traps and water hazards.

They've been facing brutal 6A competition, and so the losses have mounted. The team's learning process and its mettle, however, have improved dramatically.

Saturday afternoon offered a microcosm of that, a window into the Lady Wildcats' regular season. They were swept away by La Cueva 20-25, 21-25, 14-25 at Rock Staubus Gymnasium, ending their District 2-6A slate at 3-7. The Lady Bears, though, are considered the state's best 6-A team, a volleyball juggernaut. Watching the Lady Wildcats scrap and scrape on every point against them, seeing the Lady 'Cats compete against a powerhouse, you could understand why they have hope and optimism for Tuesday's district playoff opener and for the district tournament in general.

"We played well," Clovis head coach Ruth Chavez beamed about Saturday's effort. "We played very disciplined. We were disciplined in what we were trying to do. (The Lady Bears) are really good, but we played good against them. We can't be frustrated. That game made us a lot better, and that's all we can ask for. It made us a lot better."

"(The Lady Bears) are really good, they have good hitters," Clovis senior defender/middleback Katie Kelley said. "You can tell they work together well."

But, the Lady Wildcats battled hard against them, as they've done against all their tough district opponents this season. Even in the losses, the sweeps.

"Our record doesn't show everything," Chavez said, "because we're facing some of the toughest teams in New Mexico. You have to see our ballgames. You have to see our training. You have to know volleyball. Records don't show everything, especially if you're playing teams like that.

"We'll be better Monday morning because of this game."

The numbers that do speak volumes are La Cueva's. The Lady Bears headed back to Albuquerque Saturday with a 17-1 overall record, 9-1 district. Their rank on MaxPreps is the most telling of all — No. 1.

The Lady Wildcats will begin their district playoff journey on Tuesday at Staubus Gym against Santa Fe, earning the home-court edge when the Lady Demons lost 3-1 at Eldorado. The Lady 'Cats discover today the exact details of Tuesday's opener.

They do know that if they win Tuesday, their reward is a short turnaround, a trek to Albuquerque on Wednesday to play Eldorado or Manzano.

Saturday, the Lady 'Cats showed early that La Cueva wouldn't whisk them off the court, going out hard in the first set by just five points.

They began the second set strong, with a Lexi Cole kill to win the first point, eventually building a 3-1 lead, that margin also coming after a Cole kill, this one following Kassidy Furrow's serve.

Clovis led 5-3, but La Cueva tied it 5-5. A Bears' service error gave Clovis a 6-5 edge, but three straight points had La Cueva in front 8-6, and the Lady Bears never trailed again in the set.

Clovis did forge a 12-all tie at one point, again on a Cole kill, but La Cueva took narrow leads (13-12, 14-13) again, before starting to gain a little separation, winning four straight points to go up 18-13.

Clovis, though, won four of the next five points, closing to within 19-17 on a point by Kyli Osborn. And later, La Cueva's lead was as slim as 22-21 after a return landed out. The Lady Bears, however, won the next three points to close out the set and take an overall 2-0 lead.

La Cueva finally appeared in command during the third set. Though Clovis took early 1-0 and 2-1 advantages, the Lady Bears went up 4-2 and never looked back, setting the pace the rest of the way. The Lady Wildcats were keeping it within six - 16-10 and 17-11 - before the Lady Bears went on a run and constructed a 21-11 lead, the last point of that streak coming on a kill by six-foot senior Annabelle Kubinski. Soon, the Bears had cemented a 25-14 set win - on senior Kyla Lowe's kill - and had swept the overall proceedings.

Clovis walked away defeated, but not dejected, with more volleyball to go.

SENIOR MOMENTS: Prior to the game, the Lady Wildcats honored their seniors: Osborn, Sydni Hill, Cole, Jada Gillespie, Makinzie Johnson, Furrow, Katie Kelley, Journey West, Celeste Chavez, Lauren Martin and Abby Williams. On a poster adorned with coach's comments, Chavez wrote: "What I love about these girls is the hunger they have to get better. They have been asked to step out of their comfort zones daily and they have stepped up to every challenge put before them."

After the game, Kelley expressed similar sentiments.

"I think we worked together as a team," she said. "We really bonded together. We went back to the fundamentals and that helped us a lot, good fundamentals.

"It was a real family culture this year."