Volleyball Game Preview: Clayton Yellowjackets vs. Tucumcari Rattlers + How To Watch

The Clayton Yellowjackets are taking a road trip to challenge the Tucumcari Rattlers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Clayton took a loss when they played away from home last Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Pecos, sneaking past 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Yellowjackets have posted against the Panthers since November 4, 2023.

Clayton wouldn't go down easily and took Pecos into a fifth set where they got it done with a four-point win. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 14-25, 20-25, 25-12, 15-11.

Meanwhile, Tucumcari beat Estancia 3-1 on Tuesday. The Rattlers haven't had any issues with the Bears recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.

Tucumcari had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 20-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-18.

Clayton's victory bumped their record up to 9-12. As for Tucumcari, the win got them back to even at 11-11.

Clayton was able to grind out a solid victory over Tucumcari when the teams last played back in October, winning 3-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Yellowjackets since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.