Lady Loboes Win Seminole Tournament, Hughes MVP
    By Randy Hogan - The Monahans News, September 9, 2005

The Monahans Lady Loboes continue to hold on to their number one state ranking after winning the Seminole tournament over the weekend.

The Ladies opened the tournament with state ranked Dalhart on Friday, and defeated the number 11 Golden Wolves 25-14 and 25-17.  In the semifinal round, MHS beat Lamesa 25-12, 25-21 to advance to the White Bracket Finals.

In Friday's final, the Ladies defeated an always tough Midland High team.

Monahans won game one 25-16, and dropped game two to the Lady Dawgs 19-25.  The Green regained focus and beat Midland 25-19 to earn the number one seed for Saturday's championship bracket.

"We played really good defense on Friday," Coach Patty Dominguez said.  "We executed and played hard all day."

Monahans opened Gold Bracket play with a win over El Paso High 25-19, 25-17, to advance to the semi-final match with tournament host Seminole.

The Lady Loboes controlled the match against the big 6'3" Stacy Fitzhugh and the left handed Erin Sheets, winning in straight games 25-13 and 25-14.

"We established a dominance over them early, and they set back and didn't push us," Dominguez said.

MHS advanced to the title game to face Hereford, who defeated the highly touted Canyon team twice over the weekend.

In the championship match, the Lady Loboes came out focused on the task, and dominated the Herd from start to finish.

Brittany Hughes, Bethany Willmon, Catherine Cutbirth and Allison Miller came up with big kills to distance the Ladies from Hereford.

Candace Swarb passed the ball extremely well, setting up hitters and exploiting the Hereford defense.  She also dumped the ball over the net, surprising the Herd and giving the Ladies an 8-3 advantage in game one.

Willmon closed the door on Hereford, serving the last six points, and the Green took the first game 25-12.

Feeling the pressure, Hereford brought a different mind set into game two, playing the Ladies point-for-point throughout the game.  A couple of questionable calls at the line game the Herd extended life

Game two included several long volleys and all star type plays by each team.  Hereford won the second 21-25, to force a third and deciding game.

"I take responsibility for the second game loss against Hereford," Dominguez said.  "I let the score get away from us, and Hereford made a six point run.  I thought we could pull ourselves out of it.  We did, but they ran off too much to overcome."

Monahans fell behind in the final game 1-3, before Hughes recorded back-to-back kills to tie the game at 3-3.

On the third MHS point, Swarb had a big save for the Ladies and blocked two Hereford kill attempts before Hughes drilled it home.

The Ladies took an 11-8 advantage and battled point-for-point until Coach Dominguez called time out leading 18-16.  She got her point across, and Bailey Marcum responded by pounding a huge point to the Herd side of the floor.

Marcum and Miller each added blocks, and the Herd called time out trailing 22-16.

Marcum, playing inspired volleyball, recorded two kills to close out the game at 25-17.

"We settle down and made out adjustments and played very well in the final game," Dominguez said.

The tournament championship was the second for the Ladies this season and comes off the heels of a third place finish at the San Angelo tournament last weekend.

The Lady Loboes placed Candace Swarb and Allison Miller on the All-Tournament team, and Brittany Hughes was named the tournament MVP.

Monahans is home to host Midland Lee on Tuesday September 6.

Keyed by Chino Arsiaga, Senior