By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

EDGARD – West St. John’s embarking on a tough road in a district featuring two of the top teams in Class 1A.

On Thursday, the Rams fell victim to a rolling Central Catholic squad that has now won 13 straight games after topping West St. John 25-15, 25-10, 25-15.

With the win, the Eagles (21-6, 4-0) clinched its district title.

“We worked in some different hitters tonight. Meo Knight’s usually our leading hitter and she had 18 kills last time out,” said Central Catholic coach Kindra Halverson. “We were able to hit some zones which was our focus today. We started pretty aggressively. It was a total team win and I feel like we came out sharper than before.”

Jennika Jones led West St. John with eight digs. Breion Sorapuru and Tahj Howard each had two blocks.

Central Catholic started hot in the first game thanks to kills by Elizabeth Gauthier and Geralyn Garrett.

An ace by Amanda Barron and kills by Knight and Maria Templet pushed Central Catholic to a 15-3 lead. West St. John (2-20, 0-4) pushed late but the Eagles took a 25-15 victory and 1-0 lead.

The Rams stuck close in the second game early on. But with the score 8-8, central Catholic rolled off 13 straight points, highlighted by three scoring plays by Gauthier. A Garrett hit led to the clinching point.

The Eagles led throughout the third game. An ace, then a diving dig by Brittany Tuco led to a pair of Ram points late, but Central Catholic finished on a pair of Ram violations to win 25-15.

West St. John coach Brandon Dumas said that he knows his team is in a tough spot. In what’s been a retooling season for the Rams, the only opposing teams in the district are Central Catholic and Houma Christian, two top contenders for the Class 1A state title. The Rams just completed round two of a three game series with each team.

But Dumas was pleased with the way his team competed on Thursday.

The Rams fell Tuesday at Houma Christian, 25-14, 25-8, 25-14.

Deja Feist had four blocks and Sorapuru had four digs to lead WSJ.

“They didn’t give up. We competed to the best of our ability,” Dumas said. “Going against a top team like Central Catholic, you have to play your best game.

“We know we’re in a district with two of the top 10, maybe top five teams in the state in this class. But we’re not complaining. We’ll just play the hand we’re dealt and we’ll compete.”