NMMI Sports Press
The Lady Colt volleyball team picked up their first district win of the season, downing the Tucumcari Rattlers in four sets at home: 25-10, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21.
NMMI used a combination of solid play all-around, drawing energy from a large crowd, present in part at The Ole Post for homecoming week festivities.
The Rattlers came into the contest at the Godfrey Athletic Center sporting a 13-6 overall record, along with a 1-1 mark in district; NMMI’s record for the season stood at 7-8, with no wins and one loss is district play.
“We finally fought through the rest of the set,” said NMMI head coach Chantale Riddle, pleased with her team’s performance. “Sometimes when it’s 20-20, we get scared and take our foot off of the gas.”
“I thought Mia [Martinez] played very well today,” continued coach Riddle. “She served well, she set well, and brought lots of consistency.”
“As a whole, we really passed and dug well, especially in the beginning of sets,” explained Riddle about the difference between this district win and a three-set loss on Tuesday to Ruidoso in their district opener. “We still need to work on putting the ball away, how to score. But we’ve got a few more practices left and I think we’re going to get there.”
The Institute squad has four more matches left in the regular season – all district contests. They’ll play their next game at home vs. Dexter on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 6:30 pm, then start an extended series of road games to close the season out: at Ruidoso on Thursday Oct. 27; at Tucumcari on Tuesday, Nov. 1; and at Dexter on Thursday, Nov. 3.
Riddle finished by saying: “I love our girls’ fight. We’re going to watch tonight’s game over and over, to know that we can do it.”