ALBUQUERQUE — Cleve-land High volleyball coach Ben Wallis said he was actually happy with the way his team played, fundamentally, anway, in a three-game loss at Cibola Thursday evening.

After losing the C team and junior varsity matches, the Cibola varsity (12-5, 3-2) defeated the varsity Storm 25-19, 25-13, 25-22.

“I’m happy with our volleyball stuff that I saw,” he said. “I’m not happy with our inability to be tough at the service line — and we’re a good serving team. That’s what disappoints me the most.”

Freshman Courtney Lawson goes up for a block on a Cougars' would-be kill Thursday evening.

In the teams’ first meeting, at Cleveland on Sept. 29, the Storm lost the first game, then won the next three.

In their latest meeting, the Cougars never left any doubt as to who was going to win, taking advantage of seven Storm service errors in the first game and then scoring the final 12 points to pull away from what had been a deadlock at 13-all in the second game.

The Storm (10-7, 3-2 in 1-5A) and Cougars had a seesaw third game, with seven ties, until Cibola assumed control after a 7-1 run and took a 17-11 lead.

The Storm whittled the deficit to one on several occasions, the last at 23-22, before yet another service error returned serve to the Cougars for match point.

“You can’t miss seven serves in a game — not the opening game,” Wallis said.

Still hopeful of a district championship, the Storm are at Gallup Thursday, then play host to Rio Rancho in a “Dig Pink” promotion on Oct. 27. The Storm’s finale is Oct. 29 when West Mesa visits.

Victories in those three matches will throw the 1-5A race into a mess, although the first-place, undefeated Rams, will need to stumble in a match, plus lose to Cleveland, for any tie-breaking possibilities.

Last Tuesday, the Storm swept visiting West Mesa.