THS spikers win district opener

Tucumcari's volleyball team won its district opener Thursday against Santa Rosa in part because of the return of a starter from an injury and the emergence of another starter as a hitter.

Sophomore Serenity Savala registered eight kills as the Lady Rattlers (10-4) commanded a 34-16 advantage in that over the Lady Lions (3-11) during a 25-22, 25-21, 25-15 victory at a raucous Rattler Gymnasium.

Savala had been used primarily as a blocker this season. During the team's nearly two-week break, THS coach Dana Benavidez and the rest of her staff worked with Savala to make her into more of a hitter.

"We worked on her passing and setting her feet and making sure she's making the right movements," Benavidez said. "She worked really hard to make make the correct volleyball movements. It made a big difference. You can see it in her play.

"She just played amazing, with confidence. I was super, super proud of her."

Sophomore Cambree Benavidez led the Lady Rattlers with 12 kills, and Kyla Lopez added eight.

"We hit much better than we had been, and we passed better," the coach said. "We served better. We didn't have a whole lot of serving errors."

Thursday also marked the first match that senior outside hitter July Lafferty played since suffering a nasty ankle sprain during the Mora match on Sept. 12.

She was cleared to play on Tuesday night, giving her only one practice before the Santa Rosa match. Her role Thursday was primarily as a back-row player and server.

"We're starting her off slow, but just the chemistry she has with the other players makes a huge difference," coach Benavidez said. "We'll get her back to going more in the front row."

Lafferty ended the match with 15 service points and 10 digs.

In the first set, the Lady Lions kept it close until Cambree Benavidez made three kills to give her team a four-point lead. Lopez also made a kill to bring her team to within match point.

Early in the second set, THS senior setter Caylee Benavidez twisted an ankle and winced for a few seconds but stayed in the match.

"She kind of she stepped wrong, and it slowed her down a little bit. But she's won't come out of a game like this," her mother and coach said. "We'll ice it."

Tucumcari trailed the second set 19-17 but went on an 8-2 scoring run to reverse the momentum. Lopez, Savala and Cambree Benavidez each made kills during the rally, and Caylee Benavidez executed a block for another point.

In the third set, Tucumcari reeled off 11 unanswered points to take a double-digit lead. Savala made three kills during the rally, and Lafferty served two aces.

With the victory all but assured, that prompted the THS coach to empty her varsity bench.

"I have 15 players right now, and I got all of them in," she said. "And all of them contributed to that win. All of them got a stat line. All of them got either a dig or a hit or serve. So I'm very proud of that."

Santa Rosa coach Rayauna Urban said her freshman and sophomore-laden team is struggling with its inexperience.

"We have a little bit of rebuilding, but they're coming along," she said. "But, honestly, Tucumcari is a scrappy team. They're very good defensively. Even if they don't get a good pass, they're giving it back to us every single time."

Tucumcari 3, Pecos 0

After spotting Pecos an 8-1 lead in the first set, Tucumcari largely dominated during a 25-17, 25-17, 25-19 district road victory Saturday.

The Lady Rattlers struggled with their hitting early in the opening set. They reversed momentum by scoring nine straight points behind five kills by Cambree Benavidez. She finished with a match-high 18 kills.

Kyla Lopez added 10 kills and four aces for Tucumcari, which overwhelmed Pecos 39-15 in kills.

Tucumcari improved to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in district play. Pecos fell to 4-8, 0-2.

Logan 3, Clovis Christian 0

The Lady Longhorns won their fourth in a row with a dominating 25-3, 25-10, 25-13 district victory Thursday over visiting Clovis Christian.

Logan, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com, improved to 13-3 overall and 2-0 in district play.

Clovis Christian fell to 7-5 overall, 2-1 in district.