Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis High senior libero Aeryanne Conn goes down to receive a serve against Portales High during Tuesday's clash at The Rock. The Lady Rams defeated CHS in four sets.
The Portales High and Clovis High volleyball teams have seen a lot of each other lately, with Portales winning in three in last weekend's Peyton Chavez Invitational at the Ram Athletic Center and the Lady Wildcats posting a five-set victory over PHS earlier at the RAC.
Tuesday night they met again, this time at Rock Staubus Gym, and Portales walked away with a 25-14, 25-17, 21-25, 25-17 triumph to extend its winning streak to five matches.
Sophomore Myleigh Banda had 13 digs, four aces and 24 assists for the Lady Rams, while senior Audrey Paden notched 13 kills and seven aces and sophomore Skyler Massey added 11 kills. Senior Alondra Acosta combined eight kills, 12 digs and six aces as four players finished with double-figure digs.
"Honestly, we had to fight our way through it," first-year PHS coach Bailey Greenwalt said. "We've got a long week ahead of us, and there are still some things we have to refine."
Senior outside hitter Kailyn Jefferson posted 16 kills, 12 digs and two aces for the Lady Cats, while junior setter Amanda De La Rosa also earned a double-double with 14 digs and 22 assists. Senior libero Aeryanne Conn had 20 digs and three aces.
"Portales served the ball really aggressively, and we didn't," CHS coach Cristy Hill said. "We really struggled with serve-receive, and that had been one of our stronger areas the last couple of weeks.
"Hopefully, we're getting better playing these teams with good hitters."
Clovis led 5-1 early in Game 1 before the Lady Rams stormed from behind. PHS also dominated Games 2 and 4 while the Lady Cats led for most of the third set.
Portales 3, Ruidoso 0 (Thursday) – The Lady Rams made short work of Ruidoso (3-7) in extending their winning streak to six, cruising 25-5, 25-11, 25-12 at the RAC.
How short? Nine of the Lady Warriors' 28 points came on service errors by Portales (11-2).
Massey finished with 10 kills and two blocks, while Paden had seven kills and Banda compiled 24 assists, seven digs, four aces and a pair of blocks. Junior outside hitter Addison Ainsworth notched four blocks, while Acosta collected eight aces and junior Mariah Velasco added four.
Portales was to travel to Friona for Saturday matches against the Squaws and Amarillo Highland Park. The Lady Rams are then off until playing at Las Vegas Robertson on Saturday.
Artesia 3, Clovis 0 (Thursday) – At Artesia, the Class 4A top-ranked Lady Bulldogs (10-3) kept the Lady Cats struggling, handing them their fifth loss in a row in a 25-17, 25-7, 25-13 decision.
Clovis (9-7) led 4-0 in the first set, but it was all downhill from there.
"We were decent (in the first set), but they weren't hitting the ball that great," Hill said. "We passed the ball OK, but there wasn't very much positive tonight."
De La Rosa had 13 assists and eight digs for the Lady Cats, while Conn notched 11 digs.
Next up for the Lady Cats is a 6 p.m. match on Thursday against Lovington at The Rock.
