Lady Wolverines rout Clayton

TEXICO — Two-time defending Class 2A state champion Texico took the first step towards a three-peat on Saturday, and the Lady Wolverines didn’t have all that hard a time.

Dominating from the start, Texico rolled to a 25-8, 25-10, 25-14 victory over Clayton in its District 6-2A opener. The Lady Wolverines (12-1), ranked No. 1 in 2A, rode a balanced output to a surprisingly easy win over the Jackettes (9-3, 1-1).

“They’re a really good team,” senior Jaryse Harris said. “They dug up a lot of balls, and they were really scrappy.”

Still, Clayton never mounted a threat in this one. Junior Victoria Richards and freshman Jaylyn Cooper each had eight kills, and Cooper added two blocks.

First-year Texico coach Kristen Scanlan said the Jackettes are a better team than they showed.

“What I think has happened is we’ve beaten them for a number of years and they have a mental block,” she said. “We did some things to take them out of their game.”

Harris, a four-year varsity player and third-year starter, said it would be nice for the Lady Wolverines to three-peat, but added that it’s all a ways off.

Besides, she wants to enjoy the ride.

“There’s lots of expectations,” said Harris, who contributed six kills and a team-high 11 digs. “I have confidence in our team — I wouldn’t trade any of them.

“It’s (state title) a goal, but it’s not the only thing that matters. I just love playing volleyball.”

Scanlanassisted longtime coach Mike Littlejohn for the past two seasons, andsaid he set the tone for the program over the years.

Littlejohn is now the volleyball coach at Borger, Texas.

“These are truly amazing kids,” Scanlan said. “I’m just along for the ride.

“Our passing today was better than it has been all year. Our offense feeds off the passing.”

Clayton led only briefly early in the second and third games. In Game 3, the Jackettes managed to hang close for a while, pulling to 11-8 on a kill by junior middle hitter Ashley Trujillo, but Cooper had a kill and a block as Texico scored the next six points to put it out of reach.