Lady Rams top Texico in tourney finals

Texico and Melrose had a chance to test themselves against some larger schools in Portales High’s Peyton Chavez Invitational volleyball tournament over the weekend at the Ram Athletic Center, and both gave good accounts of themselves.

The Lady Wolverines (9-2), ranked second in Class 2A by MaxPreps, made it to the championship match and bounced back from a first-game rout to push the host Lady Rams before losing 25-9, 26-24, 34-32. Meantime, Class 1A No. 1 Melrose (9-1) notched third place by holding off Clovis High 25-13, 22-25, 18-25, 25-13, 15-12.

Clovis (9-5), Texico and Portales (9-2) were all in Pool A on Friday with Taos, and all three advanced to Saturday’s championship semifinals. The Lady Rams went 10-0 in pool competition to earn the top seed in Saturday’s bracket play.

Texico was second in pool play at 8-2, followed by Melrose (7-3) and Clovis (5-5), which won a pool-play tiebreaker over Moriarty. Pojoaque was sixth in pool play, followed by Taos and Eunice.

First-year PHS coach Bailey Greenwalt said her team had a good performance.

“It’s really hard to go a full weekend and not lose (a set),” she said. “It’s tiring and a lot of games.

“We struggled in pool play against Moriarty, and I think the girls realized we have to improve.”

Portales advanced to the finals with a 25-23, 25-18, 25-22 victory over Clovis, while Texico handed Melrose its first loss of the campaign 16-25, 25-17, 25-22, 20-25, 15-10 in the other semifinal.

PHS, which faced Clovis again at The Rock on Tuesday night, got 13 kills and 10 digs from sophomore middle hitter Skyler Massey against the Lady Wildcats, while senior Audrey Paden had 11 kills and four aces. Junior Myleigh Banda combined 35 assists and 10 digs, junior Tya Rippee had 17 digs and senior Alondra Acosta posted 16 digs and four aces.

Junior Amanda De La Rosa picked up 10 digs and 20 assists and junior Jori Mondragon had 16 digs for CHS.

In the other semifinal, junior Aspyn Furrow had 13 kills and 21 digs and sophomore Kinzee Crow delivered 13 kills and as Texico rallied from a 2-1 deficit in games to knock the Lady Buffs from the ranks of the unbeaten. Junior Desiree Holman posted 23 digs, while senior Ella Collins had 35 assists and 20 digs.

Lady Wolverines coach Gabe Jones said the tournament will only help his squad.

“It’s good to play tough competition,” he said. “It’s going to make you better at the end of the day.”

Melrose was led by senior Graci Odom with 23 kills, 12 digs and five aces. Senior Kye Saulsberry added 40 assists, while senior Tenley Trollinger collected 16 digs.

What seemed like a blowout win in the championship match quickly turned as Texico forced the Lady Rams to work hard in the final two sets. Furrow put up 10 kills and 17 digs for the Lady Wolverines and junior Abby Haakman just missed a double-double with 15 digs and nine assists. Crow had eight kills, and she and junior Desiree Holman both claimed 13 digs.

“I was really pleased with our defense this weekend,” Jones said. “We were able to get the ball in the middle of the court.”

Massey had 17 kills for PHS, while Paden finished with 12 kills and four aces. Banda earned her second double-double of the day with 17 assists and 39 digs.

Clovis grabbed a 2-1 lead in the third-place match, but couldn’t finish off the Lady Buffs. Melrose dominated Game 4 before ekeing out the deciding set.

“Oue pool was definitely stronger and we got to the (championship) bracket,” Lady Cats coach Cristy Hill said. “The girls are moving their feet better and I feel like we’re getting better.”

Odom had 23 kills and 18 digs for Melrose, while junior Kambree Draper added 11 kills and three blocks and Saulsberry earned 40 assists.

“The Odom girl is really good,” Hill said. “I don’t think we have a hitter like her in our district.”

Clovis and Portales are back in action on Thursday night, with the Lady Wildcats visiting Artesia and the Lady Rams welcoming Ruidoso. Meantime, Texico played at Lovington on Tuesday and travels to Melrose for a rematch with the Lady Buffs on Thursday.