Lady Loboes Get Back on Track, Sweep Andrews, Crane
    By Randy Hogan, Staff Writer Monahans News ~~ September 22, 2006

The Monahans Lady Loboes marched through a dual match with Andrews and Crane Tuesday, regaining their focus on the big prize after dropping a match to Class 5A Lubbock Coronado Saturday.

Monahans (27-3) appeared a little out of sync on the road in Lubbock, but refocused their effort to take out the Mustangs and Golden Cranes in straight sets in front of the home crowd at the Jerry Larned Sports Complex.

The Lady Loboes had already defeated Andrews (13-16) once this season, dropping AHS in a championship bracket match 25-11, 27-25 at the Monahans tournament in August.

"In the tournament we wanted to get in their (Andrews) head for future match," MHS Coach Patty Dominguez said.  "They are a potential playoff opponent for us and we wanted to establish our dominance early."

Dominguez was on the money with her foresight, as the Lady Loboes blasted one big shot after another into the teeth of the Mustang defense to win game one of the match 25-9.

In fact, Monahans amassed 11 aces in the match from the service line.

On a team full of big hitters, Andrews was completely shut down by the stingy Lady Lobo defense and taken out of their game plan early.

The Green followed their impressive performance with an almost identical blowout in game two, defeating Andrews 25-8 to take a commanding lead into the final set.

AHS fought back in game three, but Monahans overpowered the former Class 4A volleyball powerhouse 25-13 to sweep the match from the Mustangs.

Andrews didn't go home empty handed, as they defeated the Lady Cranes 25-19, 18-25, 25-18, 25-18 to finish the night.

For Monahans, junior Jordan Latham led the team with 10 kills, 1 block, 2 digs, and an ace.  Latham's power game at the net opened the door for Catherine Cutbirth to find holes in the Mustang defense.

Cutbirth added 8 kills, 1 block, 2 assists, 5 digs, and 4 huge aces in the match, and appeared to fuel the entire team throughout the match.

Bailey Marcum complimented the Green effort with 5 kills, 1 block, 7 digs, and 2 aces, while Bethany Willmon smashed 2 kills, 1 assist, 1 dig, and 2 aces on the night.

Junior setter Kaitlin Mitchell ran the Green offense to near perfection as she record 17 assists against AHS.  In addition, she picked up 2 kills, 4 digs, and an ace for the night.

Heather Schulz and Dina Ortiz recorded a dig each, while Kim Wilson picked up an ace against the Mustangs.

The Lady Loboes also handed the Cranes a loss during the second dual match, blasting CHS 25-15, 25-20, 25-7 in straight sets.

Crane gave a great effort in games one and two, but fell hard to the speed and power of the Green team in the final set of the match.

On the night Kaitlin Mitchell looked like a seasoned veteran running the Monahans offense as she recorded 29 assists.  Mitchell also posted 1 kill, 1 dig and an ace against the Cranes to add to her season total.

Jordan Latham picked up right where she ended the Andrews match by hammering 12 kills into the CHS side of the court.  She also picked up 4 digs and an ace.

Catherine Cutbirth pounded out 9 kills and 2 big blocks, and accounted for 6 digs.  Cutbirth continues to rank among the team leaders in aces for the season, as she blasted the Cranes for 2 key aces in the match.

Bethany Willmon continued to perform well at the net for MHS, and she accounted for 5 of the Lady Loboes 33 kills on the night.  She also dug 7 big shots, and blasted an ace in the match.

Bailey Marcum picked up her rhythm and knocked down 4 kills, while serving an ace and digging out 6 power shots by CHS.

Heather Schulz posted 1 kill and 1 dig, while Kim Wilson put down 1 kill and two service aces in the match.

Defensive specialist Dina Ortiz flew all over the court and picked up 4 key digs against the Cranes.

Next up for Monahans is Class 5A Odessa High at 3 pm at the Broncho gym.

OHS is led by junior hitter Kylie Cowan, and will take a break from District 3-5A action to host the Loboes Saturday.

Odessa (16-8) lost to Midland High Tuesday, 25-20, 27-29, 25-14, 25-22.

Keyed by Kiefer Smith, Senior '07