Socorro’s Jazlynn Armijo hits the ball over the net as Magdalena’s Ariel Willie tries to block it during the third set of the Lady Warriors 3–0 win on March 12.
Caitie Ihrig | El Defensor Chieftain

The Socorro Lady Warriors swept the Magdalena Lady Steers 3–0 on March 12 in front of a home crowd of roughly 250 people at Socorro High School.

Socorro and Magdalena faced each other for the second time this season on March 16 in Magdalena. The Lady Warriors won 3–0, defeating the Lady Steers 25–14 in the first set, 25–17 in the second and 25–15 in the third.

Socorro is undefeated so far this season, 7–0, and has swept each opponent except for Bernalillo where they won 3–2.

Magdalena is 1–7 this season and their only win came during a home match against Carrizozo on March 13 where they won 3–2.

On March 12, the Lady Steers won the first point of each of the three sets. In the first set, both teams stayed within a few points of each other as Socorro won 25–17, which was their biggest lead of the set.

After the set tied at four, four Magdalena mistakes and an ace by Socorro’s Jayden Van Winkle gave the Lady Warriors a 9–4 lead. Each team then scored a point, but two Socorro mistakes made the score 10–7.

Both teams continued to score, but the Lady Warriors were able to stay ahead. Magdalena was able to get within two points of Socorro’s lead multiple times.

Magdalena’s Kenzie Silva sets the ball during the first set of their match against Socorro on March 12
Caitie Ihrig | El Defensor Chieftain

With the Lady Warriors ahead 17–15, they started to pull away and only allowed the Lady Steers to score two more points before winning the set. Magdalena scored the first four points of the second set via three Socorro mistakes and a hit from Sammy Hass.

Socorro reclaimed the lead and went ahead 10–4 due to four Magdalena mistakes. Lady Warrior’s Taelene Fowler also had a hit.

After two Lady Steer points, the Lady Warriors took a 15–6 lead as Fowler and Garee Celine Apodaca each had a hit. The other three points came from Magdalena mistakes. The Lady Steers were able to add a point to the board via a Socorro mistake, but two Magdalena mistakes gave the Lady Warriors a 10 point lead.

Socorro had three more 10 point leads before the set ended with four consecutive Lady Warrior points. Marysa Ocampo had two aces, Marissa Herrera tipped the ball over the net and a mistake by Magdalena ended the set at 25–12. The third set started off with three Magdalena points off of Socorro mistakes, but then two Magdalena mistakes and a hit from Apodaca and Ocampo gave the Lady Warriors a one-point lead.

The Lady Steers reclaimed the lead and went ahead 7–4, but a seven-point run by the Lady Warriors put them ahead 12-8 and they kept the lead for the rest of the match.

Magdalena was able to come within two points of the lead, 12–10, but Socorro then kept a four-point minimum lead for the rest of the set.

The majority of the points were scored from mistakes by either team as Socorro and Magdalena scored their final four and two points, respectively via mistakes. Socorro won the set 25–17.

The Lady Warriors will travel to face Hot Springs at 6 p.m. on March 18. They will then host Hot Springs at 6 p.m. on March 22.

The Lady Steers have two of their three final home matches coming up. They will host Mountainair at 4 p.m. on March 18 and Hot Springs at 1 p.m. on March 20.

Caitie Ihrig