Lady Loboes Move Past Gainsville, Drop Heartbreaker to Canyon Eagles
    by John Hasselmeier (Special to the News) ~~ The Monahans News, November 14, 2006

LUBBOCK – There were some in attendance at Monahans’ Region I-3A semi-final who thought Gainesville would provide a challenge to the Lady Loboes.

That wasn't quite the case, though, as Monahans took down the Lady Leopards Friday afternoon at the Rip Griffin Center by scores of 25-13, 25-16, 25-13.

That put Monahans in the regional final with a chance to qualify for a fifth consecutive state tournament.  It also raised the Lady Loboes' record to 41-3.  Gainsville finished with 27-12.

"I just think there's not enough communication going on right now," Monahans head volleyball coach Patty Dominguez said.   "We're going to have to work on that for tomorrow (Saturday)."

Catherine Cutbirth led to way for Monahans with eight kills, two blocks, and an two ace serves.  Bailey Marcum wasn't far behind behind her with seven kills, two blocks, a dink, and an ace serve.

Bethany Willmon followed with six kills.  Jordan Latham had four kills while Kimberly Wilson had two ace serves and a kill, Kaitlin Mitchell one kill and Paige Shaw an ace serve.

"Were hitting the ball pretty well," Dominguez said.  " You're talking about having a couple of hitters out there, Heather Schulz and Jordan Latham, who are new to the regional tournament experience.  The first match is always a little bit uneasy.

You have a little bit of that going on until you get in the flow.  I think we need to communicate more.  We can create more unity that way."

Dominguez was also complimentary of Mitchell's performance at setter.

"She's come a long way," Dominguez said. "She's done a fantastic job right now.  I couldn't be prouder of her."

The Leopards actually scored first when Kaitlyn Culbertson got a block.

Cutbirth evened things up when she got her first kill.  Latham got a kill to put Monahans up, 2-1.

Gainsville took advantage of some Lady Lobo hitting errors for a 3-2 lead.  Cutbirth got a block to tie the score and a Gainsville hitting error put Monahans ahead 4-3.  The Lady Leopards tired the score on a Jordan Phyffer kill.

Latham got a kill for a sideout and 5-4 lead, and Cutbirth went back to serve.  She served up an ace.  Marcum then got a kill, and three Gainsville errors later, Lady Leopard head coach Beck Blackford called a timeout.

Once time was back in, Monahans continued to have its way.  Marcum got another two kills and Cutbirth another ace serve to help the Lady Loboes pull out to a 15-4 lead.  Gainsville didn't really threaten the lead again.

Cutbirth got yet another kill to put the Lady Loboes at match point.  However, Gainsville stayed of elimination when Leah Sanchez got a kill.  Phyffer got another one to cut the Monahans lead to 24-13.

Willmon then ended the game with another kill.

The Lady Leopards started out the second game with a 3-0 lead thanks in part to another Phyffer kill.  Gainsville would eventually stretch that lead to 4-2, but Monahans then reeled the foe in again.

Mitchell got a kill.  Cutbirth did likewise and Monahans was up, 7-3.  At a bit slower pace than the first game, Monahans started building that lead, reaching game point and eventually winning the game on Gainsville errors.

The Lady Loboes then jumped out in the third game.  Cutbirth got another kill along the way.

Gainsville answered back with a next four points, using another Phyffer kill and Laci Felderoff ace serve.  A Lady Leopard error then tired the score.

The Lady Leopords then turned it on.  Phyffer got another kill to put Gainsville ahead at 5-4, and and the lead grew 10-5 before Dominguez called a timeout.

Things got better once time was back in.  Marcum got a kill, and a few more Gainsville errors later, the Lady Loboes tied the score at 10-10.  The Lady Leopard unsnapped the tie and led, 12-10.

The Lady Loboes shifted into another gear.  Willmon got a kill for a sideout, and Marcum got a kill to tie the score.  Monahans then scored the next nine points.  A Wilson ace, two Marcum kills, a Marcum ace, a Willmon kill and a Cutbirth kill helped highlight the run.

It meant Monahans was up 21-12.

Sanchez got a kill to interrupt things, but the Monahans closed things out.  Willmon got another kill for a sideout.  Mitchell dinked for match point, and a Gainsville hitting error closed out the match and put the Lady Loboes into the Region I-3A final.

"That part fells good, it really does," Dominguez said.  "We had a lot to overcome this year.

We have brand new hitters and a new setter running the show this year, so that's going to be a challenge for us.  We're going to have to do a better job with that."

The same good fortune did not follow the Lady Loboes on Saturday afternoon as they were defeated by Canyon, ending the Ladies' four-year reign as Region I-3A Champions.  Canyon ended Monahans season with scores 25-14, 25-16, 25-20.

As a result, Canyon, which had never even been to a regional volleyball tournament before this weekend, advances to the Class 3A state volleyball tournament at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos.  The Lady Eagles will sport a record of 28-9, while Monahans finishes 41-4.

"It was definitely a heartbreaker," Monahans head volleyball coach Patty Dominguez said. "I felt we were the better team defensively.  A lot of times today, I thought they out-hustled us, and they took care of the little things.

Everything looked to be in place for another Monahans regional title Saturday. The Lady Loboes' fans far outnumbered Canyon's, Dominguez was seen smiling on the bench and MHS was up, 5-1.

Canyon then started to put up some resistance, however.  Much of the rest of that game and the next one saw the Lady Eagles seize control.

"I think we've just gotten used to thinking we can come back from behind and you can't do that against teams like Canyon," Dominguez said.  "You have got to raise your intensity."

In the third game, Monahans stayed with Canyon and even forced heard coach Harold Davis to call a time out when the Lady Loboes took a 19-18 lead. 

Unfortunately, Davis' words of wisdom apparently helped because Monahans only scored one more point after that and that was on a Lady Eagles missed serve.

Catherine Cutbirth lead the way with six kills, four blockes and a dink. Jordan Latham had five kills.

"I thought Catherine did a fantastic job," Dominguez said.  "When she was on the net, we'd make our runs. But we couldn't do that when she wasn't and you can't do that."

Bailey Marcum turned in four blocks, three kills, and a dink. Bethany Willmon had three blocks and two kills.  Heather Schulz had one kill, one block and a dink and Katlin Mitchell two kills.

Cutbirth put up with a kill. That lead would grow to 5-1 after two Willmon kills, a Cutbirth kill and a Cutbirth block. It was later 6-3 after Mitchell faked Canyon out with a set kill.

The Lady Eagles then turned it on, trying the score on a Carolyn McMenamy kill and taking the lead on a Dana Stephenson kill.  Cutbirth tied the score at 7-7 on a dink.

Canyon the ran off and hid. Stephenson got a block and for an 8-7 lead and Dominguez called a timeout.

"I saw we weren't getting the ball out far enough on the block for Jordan," Dominguez said.  "by the look on her face, she was a little unsure about what she was supposed to do."

However, Canyon still continued pouring it on. Marcum interrupted the run with a kill, but Canyon eventually got to game point at 24-9 after a McMenamy ace serve.

Marcum then delivered a dink for a sideout as Monahans tried to fight back. A Willmon block and Cutbirth kill helped the Lady Loboes cut the lead to 24-14.

Nomi Valdez the gave canyon the victory with a kill.

McMenamy delivered another ace serve to put her team on tome in the second game. The Lady Loboes didn't allow a long Canyon run like in the first game, but couldn't quite catch up.

Canyon reached game point on a Monahans net violation . Canyon kept the Lady Loboes in the game by returning the favor.

Stephenson then ended the second game with a kill. 

Valdez started off the third game with a kill. Monahans stayed with Canyon better in this game, eventually taking a 12-11 lead on a Lady Eagle lift violation.

Canyon tied the score at 12-12 on a Monahans missed serve, but Stephenson snapped the tie with a kill as Canyon stayed up for a while.

Schulz put Monahans ahead 19-18 after a kill and Nelson called his timeout. 

"We gave Canyon a little scare in game three, I thought," Dominguez said.  "We fought back a little bit."

McMenamy then delivered a kill to tie the score and Canyon went on from there to win. 

The Match was the final one for seniors Paige Shaw, Kimberly Wilson, Bethany Willmon, Catherine Cutbirth and Dina Ortiz. While they didn't finsih where they wanted to, they still played longer that an awful lot of other volleyball-playing seniors this year. 

"It was definitely a good season," Dominguez said. "We reached the regional tournament. We worked hart to get here. We had to overcome a lot of obstacles this year. You hurt for the seniors, but you've got to go back and do it again. We've got to get back in there and work, now."

keyed by: Kalah Ramsey and Lana Santiago, Juniors