Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
With Gateway Christian players and coaches celebrating in the background, the reality of their first loss of the season sets in for Melrose players (from left) Isabelle Sena, Graci Odom, Sorrell Allen, Kye Saulsberry and Tenley Trollinger after Saturday's Class 1A state volleyball match at Rio Rancho Events Center. The Lady Buffs were making their ninth consecutive trip to a state final, seeking their fifth title in that span and third in a row.
RIO RANCHO - In each of coach Casey Jackson's nine seasons at the helm, the Melrose Lady Buffs have made the Class 1A state volleyball tournament look almost like their own invitational.
It's just that sometimes you don't actually win the event.
Seeking their fifth crown under Jackson and third in a row, the top-seeded Lady Buffs came up short in Saturday's 1A championship match as second-seeded rival Gateway Christian handed them their first loss, a 25-19, 25-20, 24-26, 25-21 decision at Rio Rancho Events Center.
Meantime, Texico reached the finals in Class 2A before losing to top-seeded and defending champion Laguna Acoma 25-14, 25-14, 25-19.
Melrose (26-1) lost more sets in Saturday's finale (3) than it had previously dropped all season (2), including one in a 3-1 win over the Lady Warriors (26-1) in the finals of the Lady Buffs' Halloween Howl two weeks earlier.
After falling two sets behind, the Lady Buffs avoided a sweep by scratching out a nip-and-tuck win in Game 3.
"We had beaten them four times in the last two years," Jackson said. "It was their turn today, I guess."
Junior outside hitter Graci Odom (19 kills, 33 digs) and senior outside hitter Isabelle Sena (11 kills, 21 digs) compiled double-doubles in the finals for Melrose.
Senior libero Rylee Roberts collected 22 digs against Gateway while junior setter Kye Saulsberry had 57 assists, giving her 172 in the four weekend matches.
After a first-round bye, the Lady Buffs swept ninth-seeded Santa Fe Waldorf 25-18, 25-10, 25-14 in Thursday's second round at Rio Rancho H.S. On Friday, they posted a 25-12, 25-15, 25-23 win over No. 4 Albuquerque-based Legacy Academy to advance to Saturday's single-elimination semifinals at Rio Rancho Events Center, where they defeated 11th-seeded Alamo Navajo 25-15, 25-12, 25-15.
"We had a solid state tournament," Jackson said. "I'm proud of our kids. I thought we played pretty well up here."
Texico, seeded third in 2A, lost the first set in a second-round 23-25, 25-12, 25-11, 25-21 over Tularosa on Thursday at Rio Rancho Cleveland H.S., then swept past seventh-seeded Cloudcroft 25-21,25-13, 25-21 on Friday at Cleveland before moving to the Events Center for a 25-19, 25-14, 25-7 domination of No. 4 Capitan in Saturday morning's semifinals.
"I thought it was good to see a team (in their opening match) that we had played (before)," said first-year Lady Wolverines coach Gabe Jones, whose squad defeated both Tularosa and Capitan in an Oct. 8 event at Capitan. "The first set we came out a little tight, but after that we kind of got our bearings and played more like we usually do."
In the finals, though, they ran into a buzzsaw with the senior-laden Lady Hawks (25-1).
"They're a lot bigger in person than they are on film," Jones said. "They look more dominant in person."
After the first set against Tularosa, the Lady Wolverines essentially cruised into the finals. Laguna Acuma, which lost only four sets all season, routed Cloudcroft 25-12, 25-22, 25-8 in its semifinal tilt.
Senior outside hitter/setter Catelyn Breshears compiled 29 kills and 35 assists in Texico's four matches, while senior middle hitter Emma Wahlen had 30 kills and eight blocks, sophomore libero Desiree Holman notched 65 digs, junior setter Ella Collins had 58 assists and sophomore middle hitter Adalyn Autrey posted 11 blocks, including five against Tularosa.
