By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

After losing to rival Riverside in a hard fought match, St. Charles needed to establish some positive momentum.

The Comets did that in a big way last weekend. St. Charles finished third in a field of 16 teams as it traveled to Dutchtown to participate in a tournament from Sept. 5-8.

St. Charles first defeated Hosanna Christian in three games, 24-26, 25-14, and 15-12. The Comets defeated West Feliciana in two, 25-16 and 25-14. St. Charles sped past Dutchtown 25-11 and 25-19, then defeated Catholic Pointe Coupee, winning in three, 25-23, 23-25, and 15-7.

St. Charles fell for the first time against Ascension Catholic, 25-20, 14-25, and 7-15. In the final game, the Comets rebounded in a rematch with Dutchtown, winning 25-17 and 25-18.

St. Charles Coach Brandy Ryan considered it a brilliant overall performance by her team.

&#8220We played consistently throughout the entire tournament,” Ryan said. When we got into bracket play and faced Ascension Catholic, we faced a very good team. I think we were a bit worn down after so many games.”

&#8220The whole team really shined. They played with a lot of energy.”

The matchup with Catholic Pointe Coupee kicked off second bracket play for the Comets, and St. Charles came out on the winning end of a very tight contest. The Comets held on for a two-point win in the first game, 25-23, before falling by the same score in the second game. The Comets broke open the tiebreaker, though, winning 15-7.

Meg Gustafson and Lauren Coniglio led the team with five blocks apiece. Coniglio led in kills with six. Courtney Western led the team in assists with eight, and digs with six.

The second game in bracket play saw the Comets only loss of the tournament, a loss to Ascension Catholic. The Comets started strong with a 25-20 win, but could not hold on, losing the final two games 14-25 and 7-15.

Brooke Becker led in kills with seven. Western had 15 assists, while Trosclair led in digs with five.

St. Charles still finished the tournament on a high note, clinching third place over Dutchtown in two straight games, 25-17 and 25-18. Coniglio had five kills to lead St. Charles. Western had 11 assists and three blocks.

The week’s action did end up somewhat bittersweet for the Comets, as they followed up the tournament with a loss to Country Day in four games, 21-25, 25-19, 29-31, and 11-25.

Coniglio had six blocks and two aces. Katie Tregre led the Comets with three aces. She also led in kills with nine, and combined with Brooke Becker to lead in digs with 20 each. Becker also had eight kills. Western led in assists with 24.