NMMI Sports Press
The Lady Colt Volleyball team swept the visiting Tucumcari Lady Rattlers to pick up their first district win of the season Tuesday night at the Godfrey Athletic Center.
Those who have been following District 4-3A may have expected a different outcome, as the Rattlers were 4-0 in district play and had defeated NMMI 3-0 two weeks ago, but second-year head coach Chantale Riddle wasn’t surprised at all.
“I think this is the team I have and hopefully this makes them believe they can play with anyone,” she said. “That’s the No. 4 team in the state and we beat them by a lot. This is the level we can play, we just have to do it consistently.”
Senior libero Ashlynn Irish looked calm and comfortable as she dug balls and directed traffic, as opposed to earlier in the season when the young Lady Colts were playing a more chaotic brand of volleyball.
“I think Ashlynn realizes the end of her high school career is almost here, and she’s leaving everything on the court,” Riddle said. “She’s worked hard to get everyone to buy in and she’s a big reason why we are playing well.”
After an unusually below-average performance for Kaytlyn Lackey during the last home game against Fort Sumner on Oct. 17, the freshman outside hitter returned to form during district play, and was especially effective against the Rattlers.
“Her stats have been really good the past three games — hitting, passing, everything,” said Riddle. “She’s definitely a stabilizer for us when she’s playing well and she’s believing that she can be that player all the time.”
Sophomore setter Mia Martinez played sharp at the net, setting up her teammates and taking care of errant balls while keeping the Rattlers off balance with the occasional set attack.
Martinez and sophomore outside hitter Kiara Fuentes each had extended service runs as the Lady Colts ran away with the first set 25-11.
NMMI took a commanding 13-5 lead in the second set, but Tucumcari refocused and closed the gap to two points at 15-13. The Lady Colts jumped ahead again 21-16, but once again the senior-heavy Rattlers battled back to within a point at 23-22.
The Lady Colts of a few weeks ago may have crumbled under the pressure of losing a big lead, but these seasoned cadet-athletes kept their heads and Fuentes and junior outside hitter Sara Pires finished off the set with kills from the left side.
Pires and Lackey brought the heat in the final set, peppering the Rattlers with shots from each side of the net, along with the occasional brick-wall block in the middle from freshman Vitoria Assis.
The Lady Colts may have found themselves a little late in the season, but it might not be too late. With one game remaining, at home against Dexter on Thursday, the Institute has an outside chance of securing one of the final state playoff spots.
“We have all the pieces and it’s taken some time to get them all in place,” Riddle said. “Maybe it’s too late, maybe we can’t do enough to make the playoffs, but if we do, we will make some noise.”
The final regular-season home game is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Godfrey Athletic Center. NMMI’s five senior players will be recognized prior to first serve. The game will be streamed online free of charge at KSVPtv.com.