Portales senior Tyler Rowley goes on the attack while Hobbs junior Karla Quezada tries for the block during the second game of Tuesday's volleyball match at the Ram Athletic Center,

Portales junior Macy Mitchell, left, and sophomore Kristen Wagner go up to try for a block against Hobbs senior Hannah Cooley during the second game of Tuesday's season-opening volleyball matchup at the Ram Athletic Center.

Senior Macy Mitchell dominated around the net, particularly late, and the Portales Lady Rams opened their volleyball season on Tuesday night with a 25-22, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20 victory over Hobbs at the PHS gym.

The Lady Eagles built a four-point lead about midway through the fourth game, but Mitchell helped the Lady Rams finish them off down the stretch.

“They were really good games,” PHS coach Ruth Chavez said. “Macy Mitchell really turned it on at the end; she just took over the net.”

Chavez added that sophomore Kristen Wagner gave the team a boost at the setter position.

“We have things to work on, but we got a win tonight,” Chavez said. “That’s what we really wanted.”

Despite the loss, Chavez said Hobbs put forward a solid effort in the match.

“I think that was one of the better Hobbs teams I’ve seen in a long time,” she said. “They picked up a lot of our hits. But our girls did some good things.”

The Lady Rams return to action on Friday and Saturday in the 16-team Clovis Invitational. Teams will be divided into groups of four for pool play on Friday morning, with the top two in each advancing to the Gold Bracket and the bottom two in each going into the Silver Bracket.

Quarterfinal play is slated for Friday night, with semifinal and final-round matches on tap for Saturday. Class 2A power Texico is the defending tournament champion.