Erica Oubre, Marci Millet lead Riverside with strong play as district volleyball kicks off this week

RESERVE – Riverside head volleyball coach Missy Martin is finding a good mix of veteran players and newcomers who are leading the Lady Rebels to a strong start in this hurricane-interrupted season.

This past week saw the Rebs split a pair of games, putting them at 5-3 on the season as they aim at their district 4-2A opener this Thursday when they host St. James.

“We lost three starters from a year ago, but we’ve got a couple of good freshmen who are playing a lot, and we’ve got some good players back,” she said. “Considering everything we’ve been through, we’re just glad to be on the court playing again, and I think the girls are doing really well.”

Last week saw the Lady Rebels split a pair of matches, losing to Lutcher in straight games, then bouncing back to sweep Loranger in straight games.

Against Lutcher, the Bulldogs from St. James Parish won 25-18, 25-17, 25-19.

Erica Oubre had a superb all around performance on the day as she had six kills, three assists, nine digs and three blocks, while Marci Millet had 10 kills and three blocks with some strong front line work.

Heidi Gracich had a great defensive game with 11 digs along with an ace, as did Nicole Poirrier and Ashley Heckathorn, who both had nine digs each.

Against Loranger the Rebels bounced back to win 25-19, 25-6, 25-13.

Oubre had another good all around game with four kills, five assists and 11 digs, while Millet added seven kills and seven digs. Poirrier had eight aces to lead the team in that category, with Jessica Price having seven aces. Garcich rounded out the top performers with four assists, and Heckathorn had seven digs.

Riverside opens district play on Thursday hosting St. James and plays in the Blenk tournament this weekend.