By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE—Riverside went on the road for two games this past week, but returned home with a district championship.

The Rebels downed John Curtis and St. James in consecutive matches to clinch an outright district title for the first time since 2007. Curtis had won the previous two crowns.

“I’m very proud of the girls,” said Riverside coach Kristy Hebert. “Winning district was definitely a goal of ours. But at the same time, we can’t be satisfied with it. We have to get ready for the state playoffs.”

Riverside toppled Curtis in three games Tuesday, 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 in River Ridge.

Shea LaFountain had 15 kills, while Kristy Milioto tallied 13. Milioto also had seven aces. Toni Hebert had 19 assists while Taylor Terrio had 12. Shelby Deslatte had 25 digs.

“I thought we went into it with the right type of attitude,” said Coach Hebert. “We knew we’d have to be prepared better than we were the first time, because Curtis would put up a good fight. Everyone stayed within themselves and we came out with a win in their place.”

Hebert said that her team forced some Curtis mistakes while limiting ones of their own.

“We just played a well-rounded game,” said Hebert.

It was another three game sweet at St. James Thursday, the Rebels (22-7, 5-0) winning by scores of 25-6, 25-14, 25-17.

Milioto had 10 kills, 16 digs and seven aces. LaFountain had 14 kills. Hebert had 16 assists while Terrio had 13.

“I was very pleased with how we maintained focus,” said Coach Hebert. “The girls pushed themselves to get better. We know on any given day you can fall … we didn’t need to come up with a loss.”