Help may be on way

The Clovis High volleyball team lost five regulars from last year, including two who moved away after the season.

Still, ninth-year coach Darrel Ray is hopeful the Lady Wildcats will have a new weapon in junior Carmella Caltagirone.

Caltagirone’s father is stationed at Cannon Air Force Base. Her family had lived in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., since her sixth-grade year, then were transferred to Las Vegas, Nev., for her spring semester.

“I want to thank the U.S. Air Force,” said Ray, whose team was 17-7 last fall. “Never before have we had a move-in girl ready to play on the varsity right away.”

The soft-spoken, 5-foot-9 outside hitter played on the junior varsity last year in a Class 4A high school in Fort Walton Beach, then played club volleyball in Las Vegas.

“I’m a little nervous, but it’s the good kind of nervous — the kind that makes you want to do better,” said Caltagirone, who had her first workout with the Lady Cats on Monday.

Ray is convinced she’ll give the team a big boost.

“We had a real need for another blocker, and she fills the bill pretty well,” he said. “She is a more than adequate replacement for what we’re looking for.”

Ray said she’s had no trouble fitting in, and Caltagirone confirmed it.

“They’re really fun,” she said of her new teammates. “I think this is the first volleyball team I’ve been on that doesn’t have any obvious cliques.”

The Lady Cats, three-time defending District 4-5A champions, will build around senior Lainey Flatow and junior Antiesha Brown in the front row and also return senior setter Meagan Baglien, who is expected to see time in the front row this year.

They also have a couple of freshmen in Alek Mendoza and Kirsti Shough whom Ray thinks could help up front this season.

Ray has one major goal — to see his team get past the Class 5A state quarterfinals, where it lost in five games in each of the past two seasons.

“We think we’ve got the group that might do it this year,” he said. “I think we’ll be able to spread the ball around to show (opponents) are going to have to shut down more than one or two of us.”

Clovis had a five-team, round-robin scrimmage on tap with Portales, Las Vegas Robertson, Texico and Fort Sumner scheduled for Aug. 23 at The Rock. The Lady Cats open the regular season at home three nights later against Roswell High, then host their 12th annual 16-team invitational the following weekend.