Lady Tigers rally, attain new balance
With six volleyball games completed, the Taos Lady Tigers have found their rhythm and appear to have settled the startof-the-season jitters, attaining
.500 (3-3 overall) to begin their
2018 campaign. It’s the first time during Coach Anita Rodriguez’s three-year tenure and the first time since 2014 that the Lady Tigers held a balanced win-loss record
So far, Taos has defeated the Grants Lady Pirates at the Belen Invitational Tournament Sept.
1, Desert Academy (Santa Fe) Lady Wildcats on the road Sept.
6, and the East Mountain (Sandia Park) Lady Timberwolves at home Sept. 11. In those victories, the Lady Tigers garnered a total of nine sets and yielded only two. The Lady Tigers have lost to Santa Fe Indian School, Belen Lady Eagles and Santa Fe High School Demonettes.
The most recent victory against the Lady Timberwolves turned out to be an exciting match that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Taos easily won the first two sets, 25-21 and 25-16. The third stanza, however, saw the Lady Tigers give up the set after seemingly having the match all wrapped up.
With a comfortable lead and needing only one point to end the contest, Taos could not deliver the knockout punch and yielded five straight points to lose the set, 24-26. With the momentum shift and a boost in confidence, East Mountain looked ready to overtake Taos and even the match. The Lady Tigers, though, imposed their will with solid defense and crushing kills to win the fourth set 25-16.
Next up for Rodriguez and company is the Tournament of Champions hosted by Santa Fe High School Friday and Saturday (Sept 14-15). The tourney kicks off a series of road games that will effectively keep Taos on the road for the remainder of September, including visits to West Las Vegas Tuesday (Sept. 18), Raton Sept. 25 and Shiprock Sept. 28. The next home game will be the district opener against the Pojoaque Valley Elkettes Oct. 4.