Cruces wins Leupold Sweet 16
Congrats to the Las Cruces Bulldawgs for winning the 2022 Jane Leupold Sweet Sixteen Tournament.
The Bulldawgs defeated their crosstown rivals Centennial Hawks in five sets (22-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 15-9) in a fast-paced, back and forth affair on Saturday afternoon.
For the Hawks, the usual suspects – OH Tess Fuqua and libero Bella Castro – kept the Hawks competitive, but Las Cruces saw some key contributions from some relatively new faces.
Senior setter and Texas A&M Corpus Cristi commit, Alexis Massey, lead the Dawgs with her athleticism and strong leadership, and libero Ainzley Doolittle kept the Dawgs in the fight with some fearless defense against one the premiere hitters in the state in Tess Fuqua.
Another noteworthy pefermance came from sophomore OH Kaselle Davis. Filling in for an ill Mytzelth Morales, who normally plays on the left side, Davis stepped up and gave the Bulldawgs a good balance and kept the Hawks on their heels.
Freshmen Step Up
Keep an eye out for the up-and-coming Bulldawg freshmen – Addison Massey and Lenaea Carr. Addison, the younger sister to Alexis, is clearly the future of the team. Although her talent is a little raw, she’s already playing at a very high level.
Carr, younger sister to 6′ 8″ GCU center, Isaiah, is also poised to do some great things as well. Although her playing time was limited, she also was in the mix at middle.
All Tournament Team
Tess Fuqua – Centennial
Bella Castro – Centennial
Marin Hatch – Cleveland
Mia Mendoza – Los Lunas
Alexis Massey – Las Cruces
Ainsley Doolittle – Las Cruces
Jenny Baker – Rio Rancho
