Lady Cats gain control late against Lovington

CLOVIS — Clovis High’s bid to get back on track this week was nearly derailed on Thursday night.

With four matches on tap, CHS volleyball coach Darrel Ray was hoping his team could pull off a sweep and get back to the .500 mark. The Lady Wildcats won Tuesday at Lubbock Estacado, but had to scramble until late to notch a 21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18 victory over Lovington at Rock Staubus Gym.

On Saturday, the Lady Cats traveled to Albuquerque for matches against host Highland (2-4) and Del Norte (0-6).

Ray said Lovington (1-7), whose only win came at the expense of Class 2A Eunice, plays a different style than most teams, and early on it threw his squad off a bit.

“It was a little different than what we expected,” he said. “After Game 1, we decided not to double-block them and we tried to keep another person back (off the net).

“Style-wise, they made us a little uncomfortable.”

Even so, the second set stayed tight until the Lady Cats (4-6) scored five of the final seven points. They nearly let a 16-9 lead get away in the third set before closing on a 5-1 surge, then used a late 8-1 run to nail it down in Game 4.

“I think we came out and fought,” Lovington coach Marisa Ochoa said. “We bounced back, especially after we lost at home (to Carlsbad in three sets) on Tuesday. Things weren’t going our way in that (match).”

CHS junior defensive specialist Martha De La Rosa, who led three Lady Cats in double-figure digs with a personal-best 17 kills, said her team didn’t come out with the right mindset.

“I feel we kind of underestimated them,” she said. “Once we saw they could play with us, we just kind of came together.”

Junior outside hitter Aeryanne Conn had 12 kills and 10 digs for Clovis, while junior middle hitter Kailyn Jefferson and senior outside hitter Gizelle Petner both had 10 kills. Senior libero/defensive specialist Zada Petner added eight kills and 12 digs, notching three consecutive tip shots to push Clovis into a 9-3 lead in the third set.

Senior setter Ella Howalt collected 26 assists for the Lady Cats. Freshman Malaiya Castro had six kills for Lovington.

The teams have a return matchup in Lovington on Oct. 6.

“I think we’ll be fine, because we’ll know what to expect,” Ray said.

DeLaRosa said she expected Saturday’s clashes in Albuquerque to be challenging.

“It’ll be (hard), but if we put our talent and hard work to it, we can beat better teams,” she said.

Tuesday, the Lady Cats travel to Roswell Goddard.

Clovis 3, Lubbock Estacado 0 — The Lady Cats got their busy week off to a solid start in Tuesday’s matchup with the Class 4A Lady Matadors (7-15) in Lubbock.

“We did something we normally don’t do,” Ray said. “We took (on) an opponent we should beat and we handled it. We were pretty happy with how we played.”

He added that the team played well defensively, picking up a lot of attacks by Estacado.

Jefferson collected seven kills, while Conn posted a team-high nine digs and three aces.

Clovis 3, Roswell Goddard 1 (girls soccer, Thursday) — Senior midfielder Caley Adams posted a goal and an assist as the Lady Wildcats improved to 10-2 with their second win this season over Goddard.

Goals by sophomore forward/midfielders Ava Crain and Natalie Griego staked Clovis to a 2-0 halftime lead, and Adams’ tally made it a three-goal margin early in the second stanza.

Junior Levi Pinon scored late for the Lady Rockets (3-6) to break up the shutout. Senior Aja Gonzales made three saves in goal for Clovis.

CHS soccer teams were slated to host Belen on Saturday at Leon Williams Stadium. The next outing for the Lady Cats is on Friday against Cibola in Albuquerque.