By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

DUTCHTOWN – East St. John did not ease into district play this week, drawing a pair of tough matchups at home against district powers St. Amant and Dutchtown.

The Wildcats had difficulty mustering offense in a 25-8, 25-13, 25-5 loss at Dutchtown Thursday. Somewhat in contrast, though the Wildcats fell to the Gators on Monday, 25-14, 25-20, 25-23, ESJ seemed to get stronger as the match went on.

“We came out flat,” said East St. John coach Monica Hebert. “In the second and third games, that changed. The girls stepped it up. We traded points for awhile, hung with them.

“In the end, we weren’t able to pull it out. We showed improvement, we had some good back and forth with them, but we just fell short.”

Chentel Noble had four blocks and two kills for ESJ (7-9, 0-2). Terynek Grover had four kills, two aces and two blocks. Darichelle Sampson added 12 assists and two kills.

Dutchtown successfully defended its home court in decisive fashion Thursday.

Hebert noted before the district season began that Dutchtown could emerge as the team to beat, and her team’s match with the Griffins did little to sway that opinion.

“They somewhat overpowered us,” said Hebert. “In the second game, we went point for point with them until 13, and then they got a lead and ran with it.

But while the scores may not show it, we’ve played a lot better. The girls could have hung their heads and bowed out 25-2 each time, but they played like they wanted to be out there competing.”

Hebert said that the attitude from her team is encouraging.

“They’re saying, ‘Coach, they’re good, but we know we can compete with them,’” said Hebert. “They’re ready for some more, and ready to get back to it at Lutcher.”

That refers to Lutcher’s volleyball tournament this weekend, which Riverside, St. Charles, and ESJ all will compete in. Thibodaux, Lutcher and Denham Springs will be in the Wildcats’ pool in the single day tournament.

“Hopefully we learn from the mistakes we made this week and do well in the tournament,” Hebert said.