Lady Rattlers victorious over Maxwell

With a solid 25-9, 25-17, 25-14 victory Thursday over Maxwell, the Tucumcari volleyball team tied its total number of wins from last season even before September ends.

The Lady Rattlers improved to 7-5, matching the victory total of last year’s 7-16 campaign. Tucumcari logged a 4-17 record in 2017.

“This is the first time we’ve had a winning record since my first year in coaching here,” Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said, noting her inaugural season with a 13-8 record in 2016. “This is huge for Lady Rattler volleyball. I see more wins in our future.”

The Lady Rattlers also entered the Class 3A rankings Friday, taking up the No. 8 slot in the latest MaxPrep.com ratings.

When asked about her team’s upswing this season despite a rugged schedule riddled with state-ranked opponents, Benavidez said: “They’re good to each other; they pick each other up; they feed off each other.”

Jasmine Jones led the Lady Rattlers with eight kills, while setter Reece Goldston added five.

“Our hitters hit really well,” Benavidez said. “They were all on fire tonight. And our serving — I think we missed one serve all night. It’s huge when you serve that well and not give away points.”

Maxwell coach Cathy Allmand, while giving props to Tucumcari, wasn’t satisfied with her team’s performance.

“They’re a very good-looking team,” she said. “My girls played flat the whole game. Tucumcari has some good servers, and we let them go on runs and being down 10. We were able to dig some of their tips and hits. We just weren’t focused enough.”

The Bears fell to 2-5.

Tucumcari 3, East Mountain 0

The Lady Rattlers notched a road win Sept. 17 during a 25-23, 25-19, 25-18 decision over East Mountain.

Tucumcari has its share of good hitters this season, but another aspect of its game proved crucial in the victory.

“East Mountain has good hitters and good servers, and our serve-receive won us that game,” Benavidez said. “They put our hitters in position to make big plays.”

The Timberwolves, which Tucumcari previously defeated during the Tucumcari Invitational Tournament, fell to 2-6.

Jones had nine kills for Tucumcari, and teammate Felicity Lopez added five.

Logan 3, Santa Rosa 1

Logan, on the road, outlasted a Class 2A-ranked Santa Rosa squad with a 25-23, 24-26, 25-14, 25-22 victory Thursday.

The Lady Longhorns, ranked No. 2 in the Class 1A coaches’ poll, improved to 10-1.

“Santa Rosa played good floor defense throughout the match,” Logan coach Robert Young said. “They are a scrappy team and gave our hitters problems at times. I feel Santa Rosa has improved since the beginning of the season. Every match we play shows us areas we need to work on as a team.”

The Lady Lions, ranked fourth in Class 2A, fell to 8-2, with their only other loss to Mesilla Valley Christian, ranked ninth in 2A.

Grady/San Jon 3, Springer 0

Teryn Foote’s 13 kills led the Lady Bronchos to a 25-11, 25-14, 25-15 victory Thursday over Springer.

“My team came out and played the best game we’ve had all year,” Lady Bronchos coach Rebecca Burns said. “We still errored more than I would like, but they came out, competed and worked hard, and picked up a good win.”

Kristin Grau added 10 kills as Grady/San Jon improved to 4-6.

The visiting Red Devils dropped to 2-5.

Dora 3, Grady-San Jon 0

Grady/San Jon suffered a 21-25, 13-25, 21-25 road loss Sept. 17 at state-ranked Dora.

The Coyotes, ranked 10th in the latest coaches’ poll for Class 1A, improved to 8-2.

“Dora is a tough team,” Burns said. “We were never able to keep the energy on our side, and we had too many errors all match long.”