Riverside erases deficit in game, match to defeat rival St. Charles in four

by RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Leading 20-9 in the second game and already up one game to none over Riverside, St. Charles looked like every bit the red-hot team that’s ripped through District 6-III this season.

And for the remainder of the match, Riverside looked like every bit the team that had won 30 games.

Riverside scored 16 of the next 19 points in the game to pull off an improbable comeback in game two, 25-22. The Rebels won the next two games for an encore, and took a 20-25, 25-22, 25-19, and 25-21 victory at home over its parish rival Comets Saturday

&#8220We just finally pulled together,” said the Rebels’ Heidi Garcich, who chipped in 36 digs. &#8220We changed our defense, and started moving like we needed to.”

St. Charles Coach Brandy Ryan said that in the first two games, seniors Lauren Coniglio, Katie Tregre and Ashley Trosclair made a fine effort in leading their team. But as the match slipped away from St. Charles (22-14, 7-0), Ryan needed to see more of that effort.

&#8220Plain and simple, we got lazy,” Ryan said. &#8220We fell apart. You want to be peaking now, not falling back. We lost focus mentally, and it’s hard to regain that edge.”

The teams picked up where they left off in previous encounters this season in the first game, a back and forth contest with five lead changes and six ties. St. Charles took a 19-18 lead in the game and never relinquished it. Riverside (31-3, 3-0) followed a Coniglio kill with two consecutive points to make it 21-20 in favor of the Comets, but St. Charles scored the next four points to close the game, 25-20.

The second game started similarly to the first, but St. Charles got on a roll as the score stood at 6-6. A Brooke Becker kill gave St. Charles the lead. An ace by Trosclair made it 8-6. Coniglio scored off a block, then made a kill on the next point to give St. Charles a 10-6 lead.

After another Riverside score that made it 10-7, the Comets went on an 8-0 run, including multiple kills and blocks by Coniglio, to make it 18-10. Riverside scored two of the next three points, but a Tregre kill made it 20-9.

But the Rebels weren’t quitting. Marci Millet made a block and scored to make it 20-11. Millet kills on two of the next four Riverside points cut the lead to 20-13. The teams traded points, and the Comets seemingly had the Rebels on the brink as the score stood 22-14.

Then a kill by Millet jumpstarted the biggest run in the match for either team – an 11-0 Riverside run closed out the match. The run was capped by a kill by Garcich, an ace by Millet, and a kill by Kaitlyn Millet for the 25th and clinching point.

Riverside blew open the third game in similar, but less spectacular fashion. With the score tied at 12, the Rebels took a 19-12 lead after a 7-0 run. A kill by Garcich capped that game, 25-19.

The Rebels kept the momentum going into the fourth game. Riverside scored the first seven points. A kill by the Comets’ Meg Gustafson would eventually pull St. Charles within four points, 13-9, but the Rebels scored the next five points to make it an 18-9 game.

After a Millet ace made it 22-13, St. Charles tried to return the second game favor to the Rebels by cutting the lead to three, 24-21. But this one ended just as the previous one had – with a Garcich kill ending the game, 25-21, and the match.

Marci Millet finished the match with 22 kills and two blocks. Kaitlyn Millet also added two blocks. Ashley Forstall served three aces and Jessica Price notched 36 assists.

The win kicked off perhaps the biggest stretch of the regular season for Riverside. The win over its parish rival was a prelude to what will be a district championship encounter with John Curtis at Riverside on Tuesday. After that another intra-parish rivalry matchup awaits at West St. John on Thursday. Finally, a match at a strong Iota team on Saturday caps the week for the Rebels, who know a strong showing will ensure a very high seed in the postseason.

Riverside coach Toni Miano said that it wasn’t unlikely that her young team – Marci Millet is the team’s only senior – might have started the match Saturday with some butterflies.

&#8220They know it’s such a big week for us,” said Miano. &#8220These are some very big matches and good teams. We need to eliminate nerves and uphold our record.”