The McCurdy Bobcats volleyball team is improving, but they slipped back a bit against the Escalante Lobos in a 21-25, 15-25, 24-26 loss Sept. 25 in Tierra Amarilla.
“We gave (Escalante) what they got,” McCurdy coach Franci Ortega said. “It was just errors.”
It was also big plays at crucial times. McCurdy committed a service error while leading 24-22 in the third game. That made the score 24-23 and gave the Lobos one more chance. Escalante made the most of it as 6-foot-1-inch Bonnie Salazar stuffed a shot at the net to tie the score.
McCurdy had another shot at game point when it led 25-24, but a Serenity Samora shot landed in an empty spot on McCurdy’s side. Salazar followed with a kill and at match point Samora’s serve caught the net but fell to the floor on McCurdy’s side, giving the Lobos the game 27-25 and the match 3-0. Escalante, which at one time trailed 23-17 in the game, improved to 7-3 on the season.
“This year we have a lot of height,” Escalante coach Jessica Toya said. “I have two middle blockers (Salazar and Alyson Ulibarri) and an outside hitter (Samora).”
The Lobos won the first game 25-21 and were leading in the second game 17-12 when the Bobcats closed to 17-15 behind the hitting of senior Sophie Swingle, who led McCurdy with eight kills. Escalante freshman Monica Abeyta stepped to the service line with the Lobos holding an 18-15 lead after another McCurdy service error.
Abeyta delivers an old-fashioned, underhand serve that looks easy to handle, but the Lobos rattled off seven unanswered points with Abeyta at the line to win the second game and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
“She’s just consistent at keeping the ball on the court,” Toya said. “That’s what we need.”
Toya was Escalante’s coach in 2004 and 2005 and led the Lobos to a District 2AA title (2004) and a runnerup spot in that time. She returned to coach the Lobos this season and has changed the Lobos offensive scheme.
“I bring my setter up from right back,” she said. “It’s all brand new to them, but they’ve started playing as a team.”
The Bobcats fell to 2-5 on the season. After 1-5 start and an eighth-place finish at the Northern Rio Grande tournament hosted by McCurdy, the Bobcats opened some eyes Sept. 22 with a 3-2 victory over Santa Fe Prep. The Griffins were coming off a 3-1 win Sept. 19 against Peñasco. The Panthers were the Northern Rio Grande champions and considered the team to beat in District 3AA, to which McCurdy belongs.
“Errors can be fixed,” Ortega said. “Good things are happening and they’re climbing Mount Everest. I’m very proud of them.”