Logan wins wild one against Lady Rattlers

LOGAN - The Lady Longhorns secured bragging rights over the Lady Rattlers this season, but players from both teams likely will be talking to their children and grandchildren about that wild second set of Saturday's non-district clash.

Logan (7-5) prevailed in the three-set match for its second victory over Tucumcari this season. But what had spectators buzzing was a topsy-turvy second set the Lady Longhorns ultimately won by a 34-32 score.

Sets, which require a two-point margin of victory, typically don't go past a point or two past 25. To go past 30 points is virtually unheard of in high-school volleyball.

Neither of the teams' coaches had experienced a set that high-scoring in their careers. Nor had the referees, nor had Logan athletic director Billy Burns.

"I thought that thing never was going to end," Logan coach Glynna Strand said.

"Both teams were giving their absolute all," Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said. "Sometimes the cards fall in your favor, and sometimes they don't. For us, it didn't tonight. I was proud of my girls' heart and tenacity."

Dusty Young of the New Mexico Activities Association said the organization did not have anything in its archives to confirm whether the set was a record-high. However, Tammy Richards, also at the NMAA, stated in an email she recalled a 36-34 set during a state semifinal match.

According to Volleybox.net, the world record is an 87-85 set in the men's Czechoslovak League in 1979, back in the era when points were scored only by the serving team.

Logan prevented Tucumcari (10-4) from scoring match point eight times during the marathon second set Saturday. Tucumcari repelled Logan twice during its match-point opportunities.

At each point scored in overtime, spectators screamed or moaned depending on the outcome, with a few possibly clutching their chests.

The Lady Longhorns broke through when Haylie Bidegain knocked down a kill to give her team a 33-32 lead. Tucumcari followed with a hitting error to give Logan the hard-fought victory.

Kaylee Williams totaled three kills for Logan during the set's do-or-die phase, and Natalie Bongers - who didn't suit up during the previous match against the Lady Rattlers due to a sore shoulder - made two of her match-high 11 kills and a service ace during that span.

The Lady Rattlers surged to a 17-9 lead during the set and clung to a 21-15 advantage when Strand called a timeout.

"We've talked about fighting back, being more mentally tough," Strand recalled telling her players. "'Let's see how mentally tough we are; let's see how we can fight back into this game, one point at a time.'"

Minutes later, Tucumcari still held a 24-21 lead and had match point. But Logan scored four unanswered points to flip match point, which Tucumcari repelled.

Back and forth it went, until the Lady Longhorns secured the win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Logan won sets one and three 25-18 and 25-19 respectively.

The Lady Rattlers rarely had a lead in either of the two other sets. They trailed by as much as double digits in the finale but made a 7-0 run to make it interesting.

Strand took another timeout to reset her squad during Tucumcari's rally.

"We shouldn't have ended up in that spot," Strand said. "Sometimes with these girls, one point (allowed) turns into six. They get down on themselves. That's one of the things we're trying to overcome."

During the match, Caylee Benavidez registered eight kills and three blocks for Tucumcari. Desta Rose added 10 kills for Logan.

Coach Benavidez admitted her team didn't play as well during its second battle this season against the Lady Longhorns. Earlier, Tucumcari lost in five sets to Logan at the Tucumcari Invitational tournament.

"We missed too many serves," she said. "We had too many service errors, especially in the first set, that affected us."

Strand acknowledged the return of Bongers to the lineup provided her team a boost during the rematch.

But she said her team has improved as a whole lately, which showed during a solid victory the previous week against Class 2A power Santa Rosa.

"We're learning to play together and more as a team and not so much me, me, me," Strand said. "The game against Santa Rosa, I felt, was our pivot point. We finally came alive."

Tucumcari 3, East Mountain 1

The Lady Rattlers bounced back Thursday with a 25-13, 25-15, 22-25, 25-22 non-district victory at East Mountain.

Caylee Benavidez led Tucumcari with 12 kills, and Haisley Huffman added seven. Alexis Ramirez served a team-high seven of the Lady Rattlers' 26 aces.

Kirksey Smith made four blocks, Alexus Lafferty made 16 digs and Harley McKinney totaled 17 assists.

The Timberwolves fell to 1-11.

Santa Rosa 3, Tucumcari 1

Visiting Tucumcari fell at Class 2A power Santa Rosa by a 19-25, 25-23, 12-25, 19-25 score on Sept. 20.

Huffman made eight kills to lead the Lady Rattlers, and Caylee Benavidez totaled six kills and 11 digs. McKinney made 15 assists.

The Lady Lions held a 38-28 advantage in kills, with Danae Esquibel making a match-high 12.

Santa Rosa improved to 9-2 and is ranked No. 2 in Class 2A by MaxPreps.com, behind only undefeated Laguna Acoma.

Dora 3, San Jon 1

San Jon won the opening set 25-20, but dropped the next three 18-25, 21-25, 16-25 to Dora on Thursday.

The host Lady Coyotes fell to 2-9. Dora improved to 8-3.