By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — East St. John made a late push Tuesday evening against Thomas Jefferson, but fell at home 25-22, 25-11, 22-25, 26-24 in the team’s final match before district play opens Tuesday at St. Amant.

Leiah Turner led the Wildcats with 10 kills and seven blocks. Jessica Sanford added 11 assists.

“I thought it was disappointing,” said ESJ coach Avignon Williams. “I felt that we were the more skilled team, but we couldn’t put it together to finish that last game.”

Thomas Jefferson trailed 24-19 in the final game of the match, but came back to score the last seven points to secure the win.

“It’s something to learn from. When you have that kind of a lead, you need to be able to put it away. So that’s disappointing for me and for us, but we have to put it behind us to get ready for district.”

The Wildcats enter district play with a record of 6-7 and will open this week at St. Amant and then at home against Dutchtown on Thursday.

Williams said she knows the district slate, as always, should be a tough road to navigate. With a day off on Thursday, the Ladycats are in the midst of a six-day window to prepare, and the first year Wildcats’ coach said that improving her team’s offensive performance has been the focus at practice.

“We’ve been doing a good job receiving passes, and we’re working on putting it down when we set it,” said Williams. “We need to be tough with our serving and get our offense going.”