Lady Eagles take tourney opener

The Clovis Christian Lady Eagles hope a win over winless House on Monday can provide some momentum in the District 4-1A tournament.

CCS (4-13), seeded fourth in the five-team field, scored its third victory over the season over the Cowgirls, winning 25-16, 25-14, 25-16 at the CCS gym. The Lady Eagles move on to a 7 p.m. match at third-seeded San Jon tonight in the stepladder-format event.

Senior Jocelyn Swann had six kills, 11 digs and two aces for the Lady Eagles, whose only other victory this season was at the expense of Logan — the second seed in the tournament.

“Tonight was relaxed,” first-year CCS coach Tisha Stewart said. “I’m glad the girls were able to get the win. Hopefully, we’ll be able to carry it over to the next (match).”

House (0-17), which has won only two games all season, couldn’t keep up with CCS. The Cowgirls had some leads early in the second game before fading down the stretch.

Tonight’s match figures to be a tough one for the Lady Eagles, but Stewart — a Clovis native and one-time Clovis High standout — said her team is looking forward to the challenge.

“San Jon’s a good team, but we’ve always been right there with them,” she said.

To win the tournament, Clovis Christian will need four wins in five nights. The final is on Friday night at Grady.

“We’re a young team,” said Stewart, who coached the CCS junior high program last year. “We’ve got two seniors, but most of our girls are really young. It’s kind of a learning process.”