Lady Rattlers capture Logan tourney title

LOGAN - After losing the first game, Tucumcari's volleyball team won the next three against Elida by a 16-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21 score Saturday in the championship match of the Logan Lady Longhorns Volleyball Tournament.

The Lady Rattlers (4-0), seeded second after a so-so performance in Thursday's pool play, knocked off the tournament's two top seeds - Elida and longtime rival Logan.

It was the second time in three years Tucumcari won the Logan tournament.

Logan (2-1) finished third in its season-opening event, bouncing back after its loss to Tucumcari with a victory over Roy-Mosquero.

Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said several of her veteran players wanted to win the tournament again like they did in 2022.

"We have four seniors that just wanted it really deeply, and their team follows their lead," she said.

Sophomore Cambree Benavidez led the Lady Rattlers with 17 kills, and two of those seniors, July Lafferty and Caylee Benavidez, added 12 and eight kills respectively.

After losing the first game against Elida, coach Benavidez made adjustments.

"We wanted to have Cambree and July hitting more from the back row because (Elida) had a harder time blocking it," she said. "And we started playing a little deeper on defense because they were hitting that deeper corner."

Junior Kyla Lopez also played a big role in the comeback, with five kills and five blocks for points.

"In the third and fourth sets, we won mostly because of our blocking. It was big, big," the coach said.

Lafferty also showed a flair for the dramatic, making many of her kills during crunch time.

"July has the heart to win and is just a great kid all around. She's a joy to coach," coach Benavidez said.

Elida coach Darrell Chenault didn't mince words about the loss.

"(Tucumcari) got to playing better, and they just beat us. I give them all the props. We just took a whooping," he said. "We really struggled passing the ball. If you can't get your hitters a swing, it don't matter."

Tucumcari 3, Logan 0

The Lady Rattlers earned their first-ever three-set victory over Logan - 26-24, 25-21, 25-21 - in THS coach Dana Benavidez's nine years as coach during the semifinal Saturday of the tournament.

Caylee Benavidez led a balanced Lady Rattlers attack with nine kills on well-placed tips and dinks. Kyla Lopez and July Lafferty each added seven kills.

THS coach Dana Benavidez said her team made significant improvement compared to what she saw in pool play Thursday, where the Lady Rattlers split two-set matches with Grady and Elida and defeated Springer.

"We played smooth and under control and serve-received well," she said. "That was a key factor. Last week, we didn't serve receive as well and struggled. We changed our defense up a little bit to accommodate (Logan's) line hitting.

"And I do have three super-strong hitters," Benavidez added. "That's hard to defend. When we have three people going, we can really put the ball down."

Tucumcari is in the middle of a transition year after losing six seniors from last year's squad. But Logan coach Glynna Strand noted her team is going through the same thing after losing seven seniors.

"It's a total rebuild," she said. "It's just a matter of trying to figure out where personnel goes. And we've got a bunch of young ones.

"We're just not consistent. We'll get there. It's just a work in progress."

Senior setter and front-line enforcer Haylie Bidegain led the Lady Longhorns with 14 kills, but she had to leave for part of the match due to injuring an ankle.

Bidegain returned to the lineup after time in the training room, but Strand admitted she was "not as strong" and that a young squad can become rattled when it sees a teammate get injured.

In Thursday's first-round matches, Tucumcari downed Clayton 25-19, 25-13, 25-12, and Logan defeated Springer 25-20, 25-22, 25-15.

Logan 3, Roy-Mosquero 0

Logan rebounded from its semifinal loss with a 26-24, 25-11, 25-17 victory over Roy-Mosquero in the third-place match Saturday.

The Lady Longhorns commanded a 33-21 advantage in kills, 10-3 in blocks and 13-1 in aces.

Desta Rose led Logan with 16 kills, and Haylie Bidegain added six kills and three blocks.

Clovis Christian 3, San Jon 0

Clovis Christian downed visiting San Jon 25-6, 25-19, 25-11 on Thursday in both teams' season opener.

San Jon will play this weekend at the Tucumcari Invitational tournament.