Riverside bounced back Thursday from a pair of district losses to capture a much-needed victory Thursday against St. James in Reserve, 25-11, 25-13, 25-18.

But sitting in third place in District 7-IV, the Rebels now have a must-win game at archrival St. Charles this Tuesday.

SCC is a game ahead of the Rebels in the district standings, and only the districts top two teams receive automatic bids to the state playoffs. A win by the Rebels would force a tiebreaking match between the teams.

But to get there, Riverside first had to take care of the Wildcats.

“It was senior night for us, so there was a lot of excitement,” said Riverside coach Kristy Hebert. “Really, a win is a win, and it was an important district win for us. I thought we were a little sluggish. But credit to our girls for stepping up and scoring when they needed to.”

The Rebels took control early in all three games.

Shea LaFountain had 15 kills. Kaitlyn Millet finished with 19 assists and five aces. Aimee Williamson racked up 15 digs.

Hebert said it was good to shift the team’s momentum in the right direction following losses to Curtis on Tuesday and St. Charles last Thursday.

“It gives us a little bit of momentum,” she said. “We did things a little differently during senior night, played a different lineup here and there. Hopefully it gives us a jump start on our preparation over the next few days.”

Curtis (14-12, 4-0) dominated its match at Riverside from the start, winning 25-8, 25-10, 25-12.

Shea LaFountain had four kills to lead the Rebels. Kaitlyn Millet added six assists.

Henderson had 22 kills and four aces to lead Curtis. Lindsey Scallen had 32 assists. Alison Grabert added 18 digs.

Hebert said that much like the last match between the teams, Curtis’ powerful hitters made life difficult for her team once again.

The only difference was that those hitters, led by senior Ashley Henderson, played even better in Reserve than they had in River Ridge two weeks prior.

“(Henderson) had an unbelievable night,” said Hebert. “She killed us with her serves and the amount of kills that she made. At one point, she served 11 points in a row.

“Our kids never quit. But we just couldn’t set up our offense. They had a lot of momentum, and they swing with a lot of power.”

They’ve got one more shot to grab hold of a key divisional win.

“It’s a must-win,” said Hebert of the St. Charles game. “I imagine the atmosphere will be just like it was in our gym for the first match. For our kids, it’s a matter of looking past that and not psyching themselves out, or building it up too much.”