Ladies Take Win Over Presidio
    By Jon Fulbright, Staff Writer -- The Monahans News, October 17, 2006

The Loboes jumped all over the Blue Devils in Game 1, winning by a 25-5 score, before struggling a little bit in their second and third games, winning by identical 25-16 margins.  Jordan Latham had 13 kills and Catherine Cutbirth had 3 blocks and Bailey Marcum two for the Loboes.

"The first game we played really well.  I thought they did a very good job," said Lobo coach Patty Dominguez.  She said Paige Shaw substituted for Bethany Willmon and had nine consecutive service points, while Kaitlin Mitchell had four straight points in the opening win.

I was really pleased with the first game, but in the second game, we missed on our second attempt, and Presidio started playing without any control.  They all started hitting the ball," said Dominguez.

She added that while the Blue Devils had problems on offense, they also did a little better against Monahans' defense, even on some bad plays.  "Their girl, who missed our first game with a broken finger, was back.  She caused our defense some problems because she miss hit the balls, and our girls weren't ready for how it came over."

Dominguez said the 175-mile drive down to Presidio might also have hurt the Loboes a little bit on Saturday.  "Our longest trip before this was to Lubbock.  Both times we've gone there, we haven't played well, but we've got to learn to overcome it, because we're going to do a lot of traveling in the playoffs."

She said while Monahans did have Willmon available on Saturday, she was still bothered by the ankle injury that kept her out of last Tuesday's match against Fort Stockton.  "It's still a little tight, but she had four kills and a couple of blocks," Dominguez said.  "We're going to work with her today (Monday) and try to get it stretched out."

Monahans improved to 35-3 overall and 4-0 in district going into their match with Pecos, which also clinched a playoff spot on Saturday with a sweep of Fort Stockton.  Tuesday's match should start about 6:45 pm, following the junior varsity game at 5:30 pm.  The Eagles are 3-1 in district, while the Blue Devils fell to 1-3, but can also clinch a post-season trip on Tuesday with a victory over the Prowlers.

Monahans also won Tuesday's junior varsity match over Presidio by 25-21, 25-18 scores.  The Blue Devils were short players due to grades, and were unable to field a freshman team.

Keyed by Kiefer Smith, Senior '07