Clovis volleyball squad takes third place

SANTA FE — Clovis High’s volleyball team came out sluggish Saturday, but the Lady Wildcats bounced back in time to salvage third place in the Tournament of Champions.

Clovis lost to Piedra Vista 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 in a morning semifinal match, then rallied for an 18-25, 19-25, 28-26, 25-15,15-11 win over Las Vegas Robertson in the final round.

“We were just flat,” CHS coach Darrel Ray said of the morning outing. “Piedra Vista played a good match; they outhit us and outblocked us. They were big, and their block threw our offense off a lot.”

Senior Lainey Flatow had 12 kills against the Lady Panthers (9-2), who met Pojoaque later Saturday for the title.

Robertson (5-3) was well-positioned to finish off Clovis in the third-place match after controlling play for about 2 1/2 games. But the Lady Cats rallied back to bail out the third game, then dominated Game 4 and lef most of the way in a relatively cloe fifth game.

“We were still a little flat,” Ray said of the Robertson match. “Robertson plays a quick offense, and we didn’t adjust very well to their blocking.”

The Lady Cats came alive about the middle of the third game, Ray said, and played well from that point on.

“Everything fell into place in Game 4,” he said. “We had an excellent game.”

Flatow posted 26 kills in the marathon matchup, while senior Meagan Baglien had 11. Junior Antiesha Brown collected seven kills and five blocks.

Flatow and Brown represented the Lady Cats on the all-tournament team.

Clovis returns to Rock Staubus Gym for a 6:45 p.m. matchup on Tuesday against Artesia.