Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Tucumcari landed the No. 11 seed in the Class 3A volleyball tournament and open play against sixth-seeded Bosque on Thursday morning.
The Lady Rattlers (16-7) will battle the Bobcats (15-8) at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
This is Tucumcari’s third berth to the state tournament in four years.
“We are super excited to be in the tournament,” Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said Sunday after the seedings were announced. “We came on very strong at the end of district. This group of girls has been working hard since July, and I’m super proud of them.”
The winner of that match will play third-seed Hot Springs (22-1), which earned a first-round bye, at 1:15 p.m. Thursday at the events center. Hot Springs defeated Tucumcari in three sets during a first-round playoff game a year ago.
The semifinals and championship of the double-elimination tournament will be Saturday. The final is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at the events center.
Tickets are available online only at gofan.co/app/school/NMAA, with no cash sales. Select tournament matches and championships will be broadcast online at the NFHS Network.
St. Michaels (22-1) earned the top seed in Class 3A. Robertson (19-4), the only team to beat St. Michaels this year, landed the second seed. Santa Fe Indian (17-6) is the fourth seed.
Tucumcari’s district foe, Ruidoso (7-11), split two matches with the Lady Rattlers, but the Warriors earned a higher 10th-seed because they won the district title.
Other teams in the tournament are Navajo Prep, Hatch Valley, Sandia Prep, Cottonwood Classical Prep and Thoreau.
According to the New Mexico Activities Association, seedings were determined by finish during regular-season district play, MaxPreps.com rankings, overall record, wins against district champions, member-school input and head-to-head play.