Published 10/30/08
McCurdy senior Brenda Avila felt she had let her team down earlier, and she wanted the ball. It was the pivotal fifth game of the Bobcats’ District 3AA volleyball match-up against Questa Oct. 25 in Española.
McCurdy had lost the first two games of the match but battled back to win the third and fourth. In that fifth game, the Bobcats gained an early lead but Questa scored five straight points to pull ahead 10-9.
That’s when Avila took over in the middle of the net. She slammed down three straight kills to force a match point, and then put up a big block on Questa’s Kelsey Zimmerman, stuffing the ball and giving the Bobcats a 15-10 victory.
“I really wanted to hit,” Avila said. “I felt I had let them down, but my team brought me back up and I wanted the ball.”
The win over the Wildcats completed a remarkable turnaround in the Bobcats’ regular season. McCurdy had lost to Questa 3-1 earlier this month, falling to 7-8 overall and 1-2 in district play. But they finished the season with three straight wins and tied for first place with Questa and Peñasco.
Unfortunately, the Bobcats came up short in the tiebreaker, which was based on the number of games won in head-to-head competition with Questa and Peñasco.
The Bobcats host Mesa Vista Wednesday (10/29) in the District 3AA quarterfinals. If they beat the Trojans, they’ll travel to Questa on Thursday (10/30) for the semifinals. Peñasco hosts the championship game Saturday.
McCurdy coach Steve Long said he remains undeterred.
“You have the confidence now to go into any gym and win,” Long said to his team.