Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
RIO RANCHO — To be the best, you have to beat the best.
On Saturday night, the Melrose Buffaloes proved that old adage to be true, knocking off a Goliath of sorts in Elida, for the Class 1A state volleyball crown.
For Melrose, it’s the sixth state title in school history, as it pulled the narrowest sweep in the history of narrow sweeps, 25-23, 26-24, 26-24.
“The girls came in refusing to lose today. We knew all year that were just as good as that team, and we just couldn’t get over that hump,” Melrose coach Casey Jackson said. “Today we finally did that and we didn’t let a couple of mistakes ruin that for us, and we served really well. That was huge for us — when we serve well, we’re tough.
“I just love these girls, they’re a fun group to coach.”
Melrose has played for state titles in each of the last four seasons in Classes 2A and 1A, finishing as a runnerup in the even years and getting the title the following season each time.
The Buffaloes (19-7) dug a 9-4 hole in the opening set, but soon stormed ahead, 14-10. The Tigers (23-3) rallied to force a 19-19 tie, but too many errors down the stretch — such as balls being shot past the back line on multiple occasions, doomed them in the opener.
Elida (23-3) took another early lead in the second set, going ahead by as many as six points. However, crisp passing from the Buffaloes allowed them to get back in it once again, as Melrose took a 20-19 lead.
Both sides swapped points, and ultimately, Elida had a set point opportunity. But, the Tigers would squander the chance to tie the match, and instead, lost 26-24.
“They out-passed us,” Tigers coach Darrell Chenault explained. “In this game, if you pass well, you win. They out-passed us and they deserve to win.”
Chenault added that Melrose deserves credit for its execution against the Tigers Saturday, as opposed to pinning the game on Elida’s own mistakes. As for the third set, Elida carried yet another late lead into the set, but once again, the Buffaloes simply refused to lose.
“We moved around our rotation a little bit, but really, after the fifth time meeting them, what more can you change?” Jackson said. “We executed a lot better than any of the other times we played them. I think that was a huge difference — we made the big runs when we needed to, we made serves when we needed to, and the biggest thing is we never quit.”
For Elida, its unprecedented run of seven consecutive state titles comes to an end at the hands of a district rival, whom the Tigers had beaten three of the previous four times they had faced them this season. This year’s two losses to Melrose are Elida’s only in-class losses over eight seasons.
The coaches and players have frequently called it a battle among friends. The schools are 36 miles apart on NM 330, and they’re more than friendly neighbors. When Elida’s players dedicated their cancer charity fundraiser game to Chenault, who’s been battling pre-cancerous cells in the esophagus, Melrose donated its fundraiser game check and helped with the post-game auction.
“It’s awesome. It’s hard for those seniors, but we’ve had a tremendous run,” Chenault said. “We set a state record for most consecutive titles, and we’re still extremely proud. There’s a lot of teams that wish they were second, so we’ll take that.”
For Melrose, it’s the sixth title in school history. Elida was looking to join Texico (14) and Goddard (10) as the only schools with double figures in state volleyball blue trophies.
For Jackson and company, winning a state title is amazing, but ending an amazing streak by a rival is just as satisfying. “It’s huge. Darrell Chenault, I look up to him so much,” Jackson explained. “He’s a tremendous coach, a tremendous person and he has his girls — they’re like machines out there. To take down that is huge, but you can’t take away what he’s done already, and what he’s done for small school volleyball. It was pretty special ending that streak.”
As for Melrose’s way of celebrating such a big win, you ask?
“I think we’re gonna go to The Roadhouse,” Jackson said, smiling. “Yeah, we’re gonna go have some steak and celebrate.”