WSJ falls to St. James, but rebounds

Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 17, 2011

By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

EDGARD — St. James snapped West St. John’s undefeated streak at four on Tuesday in Edgard, winning in five games over the archrival Rams. The Lady Rams rebounded Thursday night, however, as they defeated Family Christian in four games on the road.

Against Family Christian, West St. John (5-1) fell in the opening game but rallied to secure victory in the next three, winning 17-25, 26-24, 25-15 and 25-20.

Breion Sorapuru led the Rams with six kills, eight digs, and two aces.

West St. John coach Brandon Dumas said that after a slow start, the Rams “rallied the troops.”

“We’re still trying to get our girls to start faster,” he said. “Play hard from the opening whistle. We tend to be lax in that first game, then decide to play. But after that first game, we played West St. John volleyball. Everyone got behind one another … it wasn’t just us coaches trying to lift them up, but they were lifting each other. It was a good thing for us to see.”

West St. John led St. James two games to one on Tuesday but the Wildcats pushed back to take a 25-16, 24-26, 19-25, 25-17 and 15-10 win at WSJ.

Lakeedra Lewis led the Rams with six kills and five digs.

“We were up 2-1, so we were in good position,” said Dumas. “We had a chance to get one more and take it. But St. James is a good team and we went back and forth the entire way.

“Against a team like that, you need your A-game. You need to finish at the end. But that’s a team that will win a lot of games … St. James is a rivalry, and you always know both teams are going to battle.”

Dumas said while the team’s win streak is over, his team has put the loss behind them.

“The kids realize it’s one loss, and not the end of our season. We just need to build off our mistakes, now,” he said.