Saturday, October 4, 2008

Lady Eagles face tough 4A squads as 5-4A play approaches

News-Bulletin reports

The Belen volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss at home to Albuquerque Academy on Tuesday, as the Lady Chargers took a 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18 victory.

"We just need to play more consistently," Belen coach Barbara Rodriguez said. "We have some good talent, and we needed this match. I'm not satisfied with winning a game. I think we could have won the match, and I think we hurt ourselves more than anyone else hurt us."

The first game was tight throughout, but Academy (4-8) took the 25-23 win with Elizabeth Hood's kill down the left sideline.

The Chargers jumped out to a 15-10 lead, but the Lady Eagles (8-4) won six of the next eight points to cut the deficit to one at 17-16.

Academy was not phased, as it ripped off eight of the last nine points to take the game 25-17. Kristen Holt ended the game by blocking a Belen attack.

"That's been our problem, the big runs that we don't stop," Rodriguez said. "And those runs can hurt us mentally and make us doubt what we're doing. If we can toughen up mentally a little, I think we'll be a hard team to beat."

The Eagles used a 7-1 run early in the third game to take a 13-7 lead. After the Chargers scored five straight points to close Belen's lead to 15-13, the Eagles responded with four points in a row to reestablish a five-point lead.

Academy couldn't get closer than three points the rest of the way, and Belen took the game 25-21 on a Charger service error.

The Eagles held an 8-7 lead early in the fourth game, but Academy ran off an 11-3 run to take control.

Belen cut the deficit to 22-18, but couldn't get any closer, as the Chargers picked up the last three points to end the game and match. Felicia Martinez' ace closed out the Eagles.

Moriarty 3, Belen 0

The Lady Eagles suffered their second straight loss, as Moriarty (11-2) came to Belen and left with a 25-11, 25-11, 25-12 sweep.

"I just think we played a little bit intimidated," Belen coach Barbara Rodriguez said.

The Eagles (8-6) will open District 6-4A play on the road when they play Volcano Vista on Oct. 14 at about 6:30 p.m.

Manzano 3, Los Lunas 0

After getting a 3-0 sweep over Rio Grande in its district opener on Tuesday, the Los Lunas volleyball team ended up with a split for the week, as they were swept by Manzano 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 on Thursday.

The Lady Monarchs (8-4 overall, 2-0 District 5-5A) used an early 8-1 run in game one to turn a tie into a 15-8 lead.

Shortly thereafter, the Lady Tigers (6-8, 1-1) ripped off six straight points to cut Manzano's lead to 17-15, but the Monarchs recovered to win six of the last seven points to take the game 25-18.

A solo block by Manzano's Victoria Martinez and a Los Lunas hitting error ended the game.

The Monarchs scored the first five points of the second game behind the strong serves of Ashley Clevenger, who had two aces in the run.

The Tigers used 8-2 and 5-1 runs to eventually tie the score at 19-19, but the Monarchs regained control with five of the next six points, including two more Clevenger aces. They took the game 25-21 on a Los Lunas four hits violation.

Whitney Polosky had three kills in the first five points of the third game, as Manzano jumped out to a 7-3 lead.

The Tigers rallied to tie the score at 10-10 and 13-13, eventually scoring three straight points to take a 16-15 lead--their first lead of the entire match outside of a 1-0 lead to start the third game as a result of a Monarch service error.

With the scored tied at 18 points apiece, Manzano used a 4-1 run to move ahead by three, and then simply traded points with the Tigers until the Monarchs got the 25-22 win on Polosky's emphatic spike into the middle of the floor that ended the match.

LLHS coach Connie Campos couldn't be reached for comment about Thursday's match.

Los Lunas will continue district play on Tuesday, when it hosts defending District 5-5A champion Eldorado at about 7 p.m.

Volcano Vista 3, Valencia 0

At Valencia on Tuesday, a battle of first-year Class 4A varsity teams went the way of the visiting Lady Hawks by scores of 25-20, 25-15 and 25-23.

The host Lady Jaguars (4-9) showed some resilience, climbing back into the match after falling behind more than once. Volcano (8-4), a team with no juniors or seniors on its varsity roster, took a 16-6 lead in game one, only to have VHS go on a 5-0 run and force a timeout.

The Jaguars reduced a 12-6 Hawk lead in game two as well, shrinking it to 15-12 before Volcano pulled away.

In game three, Valencia actually led 18-12 before the Hawks started winning the longer rallies. The Jaguars couldn't keep the timing of their hitting attempts intact, and Volcano fought through ties at 19, 20, 21 and 22 to win.

The Jaguars host Class 3A Socorro on Tuesday at approximately 7 p.m. That will be the final tune-up for District 5-4A play for Valencia, as the Jags will face Del Norte on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

E-mail this story Printer-friendly version