Lady Lions repeat as champs

Logan won the hard-fought battle against Tucumcari but lost the war Saturday night during the Tucumcari Invitational volleyball tournament.

A few hours after a two-hour, five-set semifinal victory over the host team, an apparently less-sharp Lady Longhorns squad fell 18-25, 14-25, 16-25 to state-ranked Santa Rosa. The Lady Lions (6-0) captured their second straight title at the Tucumcari Invite and saw four players make the all-tourney team, including Most Valuable Player Daelyn Pacheco.

Logan (4-2) was led by Kaylee Williams' eight kills during the match. She, Desta Rose and Lizzy Horner each were named to the all-tournament team.

An exhausted Tucumcari (5-2) lost to Grady in the third-place match. Caylee Benavidez and Alexus Lafferty made the all-tournament team for the Lady Rattlers.

San Jon (1-6) lost against Logan and East Mountain at the event but notched its first win of the season, against Floyd in the consolation bracket.

Before the final, Logan coach Glynna Strand could tell during warm-ups her team wasn't mentally ready for the Lady Lions.

"I felt like we didn't show up focused to play," she said. "I don't know whether we were gassed, but we shouldn't be. Our game against Tucumcari was a long, drawn-out thing, but we still need to step in here and play that game (against Santa Rosa). Our timing was just bad at the net."

Santa Rosa seldom trailed in any set against Logan. Danae Esquibel led the Lady Lions, ranked second in Class 2A in the latest coaches poll, with seven kills.

Santa Rosa coach Kevin Ortiz said a pesky Grady squad during the semifinal caused his team more trouble.

"In our second round against Grady this morning, it was a little scary," he said. "Against Logan, they played a little faster, and that's something our girls are used to. That helped us in this match, versus Grady slowing it down."

Strand said the Lady Lions' defense carried them through the tournament.

"They don't have a lot of offense going for them, but their defense is fantastic," she said. "You'd better be ready to put it on the floor hard, or they're going to keep it in play."

Grady 3, Tucumcari 1

Worn out after the Logan semifinal, the Lady Rattlers lost 21-25, 25-23, 24-26, 24-26 to Grady in the third-place contest on Saturday afternoon.

"We were just gassed after that tense game this morning," Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said. "We struggled with our hitting. We just couldn't win points that mattered. And we didn't serve as well as we usually do."

Caylee Benavidez totaled 15 kills, and Kirksey Smith made eight aces and two blocks during the match for the Lady Rattlers.

Grady star Hannah Loudermill totaled 24 kills and five blocks for the Lady Bronchos.

Coach Benavidez told her team afterward not to be discouraged by its disappointing finish at its home tournament.

"I told them to keep their heads up," she said. "We have a lot of games left to play in the season. I still believe in them. We're playing at a high level; we just have to finish sets."

Logan 3, Tucumcari 2

Down 12-9 in the fifth and tie-breaking set, the Lady Longhorns rallied to win the marathon match against the Lady Rattlers by a 19-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-21, 15-13 score during the semifinal Saturday.

Williams totaled 10 kills, seven blocks - including two key ones during the final-set rally - and five aces for the Lady Longhorns. Horner and Desta Rose also made 10 kills for Logan.

Caylee Benavidez made a match-high 18 kills for Tucumcari. Smith and Alexis Ramirez each made five service aces.

Coach Benavidez couldn't fault either squad's performance during the match, which had a loud, postseason atmosphere.

"Both teams played super, high-quality volleyball," she said. "That was a great match. Both teams played up to their complete, full potential.

"We just had a few unforced errors at the end of the fifth set that caused us to lose, but both teams could have gone either way."

Strand echoed her counterpart on the quality of play.

"It's good to play good games like that, no matter what the outcome," she said. "I think Dana feels the same way."

After a disappointing first-round loss the previous weekend at their Lady Longhorn Volleyball Tournament, Strand saw improvement with her young team.

"We didn't make as many errors this week as we did last week, and that's just more practice," she said. "We're working together more as a team, and we're playing better defense."

The Lady Longhorns advanced to the finals despite an rotator cuff injury to their top hitter, Natalie Bongers.

Tucumcari 3, Fort Sumner 2

The Lady Rattlers prevailed during another marathon match earlier in the week - this time a 26-24, 25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 15-12 victory at the Vixens' home court.

"Anytime you go to Fort Sumner, it's tough," coach Benavidez said. "We had great passing there, and our hitters hit when when we needed them to hit well. That's what won the game."

Fort Sumner fell to 0-3 overall but still are ranked in the top five of Class 1A in the coaches poll because their other losses were to traditional powers Santa Rosa and Texico.