Floyd junior setter Tanna Whitecotton sets the ball during the Lady Broncos state quarterfinal match against Roy. Roy won in four games.

ALBUQUERQUE — Despite a 5-1 record in games during Wednesday’s pool play, first-year Floyd volleyball coach Shelley McConnell said she was concerned about her team’s struggles trying to finish opponents.

That flaw reared its head on Thursday as the Lady Bronchos let a 23-18 lead slip away in Game 4 and dropped a 16-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-23 quarterfinal decision to Roy in the Class 1A state tournament.

“That came back to haunt us today,” McConnell said of Roy’s late surge. “We played well in the first game and then kind of lost our momentum.”

It was the first trip to state quarterfinal play since 1990 for the Lady Bronchos (12-9). Senior outside hitter Kelsi Gray said a win at Dora in the District 3-1A tournament semifinals gave Floyd a big boost going into state competition.

“This was the best team I’ve played on,” Gray said. “I think my (returning) teammates are athletic enough that they’ll be back here next year.”

Gray said an injury to libero Elena Mendoza was hard to overcome.

“It was a tough season for us,” Gray said. “(Mendoza) was out at the start of the season, then she came back and was injured again right before the state tournament.”

McConnell said her team accomplished a lot this season.

“I was proud of the way we fought hard,” she said. “We came a long ways this year, but the thing we can do is learn from this and play better next time.”