CLOUDCROFT – Through two sets of their match Sept. 10, Cloudcroft and Hagerman were in a close volleyball battle.
The Bears had won both sets, 25-20, 25-18, but errors on both side kept each team from truly putting together a decisive run. The final set brought things to a close as Cloudcroft won 25-6 and earned the sweep.
Neither team could get things going in the first two sets, as unforced errors kept anyone from putting together a decisive scoring run.
The match was a tip war, as both teams combined for a number of tip kills that continuously caught the other side off guard for easy points. But as soon as they’d get the serve, both Hagerman and Cloudcroft would either get victimized by another tip or make an unforced error to stop any scoring run before it had a chance to get started.
“We didn’t come out and perform our best,” said Cloudcroft coach Samantha Dallas. “We had a whole different energy in that third set. We’re working on staying positive and fight the adversity. One mistake doesn’t make a bad player. It’s a mistake, and you move on.”
The Bears (3-4) were at least able to start the first set with a 5-0 run and Kacie Hughes on the serve.That initial lead essentially gave Cloudcroft the victory, as both teams were pretty much even through the rest of the set.
Hagerman (2-4) had its only lead of the match at the very beginning of the second set, as it traded leads and ties before the Bobcats squandered a narrow 4-3 lead following a tip kill by Delanie Dallas to tie it.
With Rylee Walsh serving, the Bears went ahead 8-4, giving them just enough breathing room to ultimately win the second set.
Then came the third.
Cloudcroft started the final set off strong with Emma Parker on the serve, going 6-0 in a streak that including a kill by Rylee Walsh and a Hagerman error off a hit from Dallas following a long volley.
The Bobcats were able to battle back to 9-4, but a serve out by Brylee Rodriguez gave Cloudcroft’s Cassia Moore the serve. Moore and the Bears made the best of the opportunity, running off 13 straight points, ending the run on a block for point by Dallas.
Hagerman finally got the serve back and scored one point on a Cloudcroft error to make it 23-6, but successive kills by Adrianna Ortega and Dallas brought the match to an emphatic end.
“I don’t know really what happened. I think they (Cloudcroft) served some balls, and we just shut down,” said Hageman coach Monica Morales. “We were playing well, back and forth, in the first two sets, even though we lost those. Then came the third and we were done.”
Hagerman will try to right the ship Sept. 15 with a home match against Pecos Valley rival Dexter. The Bobcats lost to the Demons in Dexter Sept. 1 in a sweep.
“I feel if we just play, it can be a good match,” Morales said. “We scrimmaged them in pre-season and went five with them then. We just have to eliminate errors and move our feet.”
Cloudcroft’s next appearance is in its own Mountain Top Tournament Sept. 18-19, starting with Friday pool play at 1 p.m. against Lake Arthur.
This year’s edition of the tournament doesn’t have the usual opponents like Carrizozo, Tularosa or Capitan, as coach Dallas went out to get new teams and new faces for competition.
“I’m excited to get some new blood in there. When you play the same teams all the time, you get into a rut,” Dallas said. “I really fought to get some tougher teams on our schedule this year, to challenge these girls. I know they can compete at that level.”
Todd Fuqua is Sports Editor for the Alamogordo News and can be reached at 575-937-0344.
