By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. Charles Catholic’s players wore smiles on their faces and had an extra bounce in their step Thursday.

It’s been a trying season for the Lady Comets, between players dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Issac, a delay to the season’s start and a string of early losses.

But SCC captured its second victory of the season, and district play, as it defeated District 4-IV foe St. James in three games, 25-11, 25-11 and 25-21.

“We came in today with a really positive attitude,” said St. Charles libero Megan Ruiz, who had 14 digs. “We were confident that we’d win, and we were able to get out ahead early and stay there in each game.

“It’s been hard to deal with all of the early losses. But we’ve won two now, both in district, and coming back to get those means a lot.”

Brissa Alarcon had six kills for St. Charles. Brooke Tregre had 14 digs. Nicole Doming had five aces and a block for St. Charles. St. Charles coach Kristin Sullivan said that Wednesday yielded a “very, very good practice” and that her players did a good job rallying to shake off a tough district loss to John Curtis Tuesday.

“We looked miles better than on Tuesday,” said Sullivan. “I feel like our team was a lot more unified tonight. They didn’t underestimate St. James. They understood that St. James has a lot of strong athletes that can really hit.

“(After getting a couple of wins) the weight is being lifted a little bit off of their shoulders. They’re building confidence as we go.”

St. James led 3-2 in the opening game before St. Charles began to assert control. Courtney Snyder tied the game with a kill to both ignite and cap a 5-0 Comet run, making it 7-3. Back to back aces by Hope Madere extended SCC’s lead to 10-4, and an ace by Snyder made it 13-5.

Kaitlyn Lowry slammed a kill to make it 15-7. Back to back kills by Lowry and Doming made it a 19-8 SCC lead, and the Comets scored six of the final nine points to close out the victory.

Some strong serving by Doming helped SCC forge ahead early in game two. St. James led 3-1 after a kill by Quani Leka Reed and a long kill attempt by SCC. But Doming served four aces to fuel a 6-0 run that made it 7-3.

Alarcon made a kill and Snyder an ace to make it a 13-5 lead. St. James scored four in a row, including a scoring hit by Reed and two aces by Tyjah Greenup, making it 13-9. But from there, the Comets rolled, scoring 11 in a row with Ruiz at the serving line, making it 24-9 and all but wrapping things up.

St. Charles scored the first four points of the third game, including a kill by Doming and two aces by Tregre.

St. James hung in, though. Two kills by Kaitlin Bartholomew helped push SJH into a 5-5 tie.

A trio of scoring hits by Alarcon, including a pair of kills, helped push SCC into a 15-9 lead. That lead grew to 18-11. The Wildcats clawed back though, cutting the SCC lead first to 19-16, then 21-18, and finally 23-21 on an ace by Greenup.

The Wildcats drew no closer. Tregre converted a tip to make it 24-21, and a St. James return error ended the match.

“We knew we had to finish,” said Ruiz. “They made a push and we knew they had the ability to come back, but we played well enough to put it away at the end.”

*****

CURTIS DEF. ST. CHARLES, 25-7, 25-17, 25-18 — John Curtis, the top-ranked team in Division IV as per power points, captured a win on the road Tuesday over the Comets in three games.

For SCC, Brooke Tregre had five assists. Snyder and Alarcon each had a pair of kills. Kaitlyn Lowry had an ace, while Nicole Doming had an ace and a block.