Lady Rattlers take loss to Melrose

Beating a typically tough and talented Melrose team is a tall order for any high-school volleyball team. Beating a Melrose team that plays almost flawlessly is nearly impossible.

The Tucumcari volleyball squad found that out during an 8-25, 13-25, 8-25 season-opening loss Thursday against the defending Class 1A champion.

The Lady Rattlers never led in any of the games, though they briefly rallied to a 6-6 tie in the second set.

Indicative of the Lady Buffaloes' dominance was their 28 kills during the match, compared to 10 for the Lady Rattlers. Melrose also looked more crisp with its passing and defense.

Melrose senior Jayda Brittenum, who seems to play taller than her 5-foot-10 height, showed her all-state dominance at the net with a match-leading 10 kills.

Senior captain Amber Owen led Tucumcari with four kills.

Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said her team "had some good moments" against the Lady Buffs.

"Blocking is not our strong point," she said. "We got a few, but it's hard to defend against a team like that because they have amazing hitters.

"But I really believe my kids played well against a team of that caliber. We had some good touches, made some good passes, dug some hard hits and had some good kills. So we're going to build on that and go forward."

Melrose coach Casey Jackson had little to complain about.

"We've got some kinks to work out, for sure, for the first game - some passing things, some little transition things we need to iron out with more games," he said. "But I thought we looked pretty good."

Benavidez said her defenders didn't have much of an answer for Brittenum, but not for a lack of trying.

"I've never seen a hitter of that caliber who places the ball that well," she said. "Her hits out of the middle are phenomenal. We tried to switch our defense, and she'd just go the other way. She's really good at reading the other team, and she's an amazing hitter."

Jackson said Brittenum has been playing volleyball for only three years. Last season, she came on strong late in the season to help power Melrose cruise to a state title.

"She just put the work in, honestly," Jackson said of her success.. "She's a very coachable athlete. She comes in, works hard and listens, and she loves it. She's just bought in, and she's come a long way."

Tucumcari experienced a scare during the first game when freshman hitter Caylee Benavidez, right after pounding home two kills, banged her knee and was helped off the floor. Athletic director and trainer Wayne Ferguson determined it wasn't a serious injury, and Caylee was seen trying to run off the pain and stiffness on the sidelines.

"We thought it was something worse, but thankfully it wasn't," her coach (and mother) said. "I was hesitant to put her back in there. I'm always hesitant with a knee injury. If it's strained, you don't want to hurt it worse."

Santa Rosa 3, Tucumcari 0

Tucumcari suffered a three-set loss on the road Saturday afternoon at Santa Rosa.

Santa Rosa improved to 2-1 overall. Tucumcari fell to 0-2.

Roy-Mosquero 3, San Jon 1

San Jon dropped a road match Saturday against Roy-Mosquero in the season opener for both teams.

The match included a nip-and-tuck 32-30 victory for the visiting Coyotes in the first set.

"We definitely started out better than we finished last year and saw a lot of good things," San Jon coach Jaree Elliott said, referring to her team's 0-10 campaign last season. "We have a full week this coming week with three games, so I'm expecting to see good growth in the areas we need to work on."