On Tuesday evening, New Mexico Military dropped their district matchup against Tularosa High School 3-1. With the loss the Lady Colts fall to 9-10 overall with a 0-3 record in district play.
Set 1
Setting the tone early, NMMI took an early command as they rushed out to a 9-4 lead with a pair of kills by outside hitter Sara Pires and Sofia Barreras. As the set continued the Lady Colts were able to make a 6-3 run with the help of a Kaytlyn Lackey kill to give the home team a 15-7 advantage.
Answering back, the Wildcats made it a point to earn some points and cut the deficit. With the help of some NMMI errors, Tularosa snaked back into the set as they trailed 19-16, forcing a NMMI timeout. Following the timeout, the Lady Colts wrapped up the first set 25-18.
Set 2
In the second set Tularosa took control after the first point. After NMMI earned the first point of the set, the Wildcats took a 7-2 lead - which forced a quick timeout for the Lady Colts. Trying to fight back, Barreras added a pair of kills to cut the deficit. However, the Wildcats were able to find momentum as theory blasted out to a 18-10 lead.
At the service line NMMI wasn’t able to put the ball in play as Tularosa ended the second set on a 7-3 run to take the second set 25-13.
Set 3
Much like the second set, Tularosa controlled the third set. Throughout the set, NMMI was unable to take a lead as they tied the set a few points but weren't able to get ahead. The Lady Colts tied the set at 10 but from that point on it was all Tularosa.
With the help of service errors at the line, Tularosa ended the third set on a commanding 15-8 run as they didn’t allow the Lady Colts to get back into the set. After Mia Martinez was able to tally a kill, Tularosa would take the third set 25-18.
Set 4
In the final set, Tularosa looked like they were going to take the fourth set handily but the Lady Colts battled to the final point. The Wildcats took an early 11-6 lead but things turned around when Martinez blocked a kill attempt to earn NMMI's seventh point of the set.
The Lady Colts fought to earn every point as they were able to hang around and cut the deficit slowly. Answering their momentum, Tularosa forced a NMMI timeout after taking a 19-12 lead. After the timeout the Lady Colts were able to tie the set at 23 with the help of five kills by Lackey. Tied at 23, the next points were back and forth as the set was tied once again at 24 points. However, Tularosa was able to end the match taking the final set 26-24.
The Lady Colts return to action on Saturday, Nov. 2 as they take on Ruidoso High in Ruidoso, NM at 2 p.m. MDT.