THS volleyball in transition season

Tucumcari High School's volleyball coach expects her team to be pretty good again this year, but she acknowledged it's a squad in transition.

Not only are the Lady Rattlers coping with the loss of six seniors from last season's stellar squad, but realignment has put them in a new enrollment class and a new district.

Tucumcari will have its first test of the season with a home match Saturday against perennially tough Fort Sumner. Junior varsity matches will begin at 1 p.m., and the varsity clash probably will begin about 2:30 p.m. at Rattler Gymnasium.

THS coach Dana Benavidez, in her ninth season, said that 31 high school girls showed up at the first official day of practice on Monday.

The Lady Rattlers also posted records of .500 or better during summer tournaments.

Though the Lady Rattlers have a good nucleus of returning varsity players, Benavidez acknowledged it will be tough to fill the shoes of six seniors who played a sizable role in Tucumcari's 20-7 record and its second district championship in three years.

Returning are senior setter and captain Caylee Benavidez (who led the team in assists and aces), senior outside hitter July Lafferty (the team's top blocker), senior defensive specialists Aliyah Marez and Nevaeh Montoya, junior middle blocker Kyla Lopez and sophomore outside hitter Cambree Benavidez (who led the team in kills).

The coach said other players will need to come forward, as well.

"We have a lot of spots to fill by losing those six seniors who were all in the rotation," she said. "Anybody who's watched very much volleyball knows you play a lot more than six players. So yeah, we have a lot of spots to fill, a lot of looking towards the younger players to step it up and hopefully fill some of those roles.

"But we have great leaders in July and Caylee. They're good kids. I think they'll be able to pull us along," Benavidez added.

Cambree Benavidez, who lead the team last year with 232 kills, was cleared for full action in mid-July after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery in January due to a basketball injury.

Her mother and coach said Cambree still can pound the ball with authority, but it will take time to rebuild her endurance and strength.

"She's playing well, but she can't play for a long time without a little bit of pain," coach Benavidez said. "She's going to have to be spotted for a while. She needs more breaks than what she's used to. But she's coming along OK. She's getting her timing down."

Her coach estimated she's at 70% of her full capacity. Her doctors have said it may be January before she reaches full strength, though the coach held out hope that could happen sooner because she progressed quickly after surgery.

Asked about her team's overall strength, coach Benavidez didn't hesitate: offense.

"We do have three very strong hitters coming back and a phenomenal setter (Caylee). Kyla, July and Cambree are super-strong hitters, so we're going to use them to run different types of offenses.

"Defensively, we've got to get to work. We lost a lot of back-row players. That's where we're transitioning the most and have to adjust."

New Mexico Activities Association's realignment dropped Tucumcari from Class 3A to 2A. The Lady Rattlers now are in a district with Santa Rosa, Pecos, Estancia, Raton and Clayton.

Coach Benavidez said she thinks Estancia probably will be the toughest foe in its district. The Lady Bears finished 14-11 last season and 5-1 in district play.

"Last year, we went five sets with them in a tight match," she said. "I think we should be OK, but Santa Rosa also has strong athletics. Raton's pretty good, too."

District play will begin in mid-October.

After the Fort Sumner match, Tucumcari will play in the Logan Tournament on Aug. 22 and 24. The Lady Rattlers then will host its own tournament on Aug. 30-31.