By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Tuesday’s volleyball match between district rivals St. Charles Catholic and host Riverside offered the type the pomp and circumstance one would see on the football field on a Friday night – except condensed into a very loud gym.

The Lady Rebels played an entertaining host to their fans, rewarding their support with a win in three games over the Comets, 25-14, 25-18, 25-8.

The Rebel players wore special pink jersies for the match to promore breast cancer awareness on Riverside’s “Volley for a Cure” night. The school held a ceremony before the game honoring both survivors of the disease and those whose lives were taken by it. The band and dance team performed during the match, and each Riverside player played in memory of someone who had passed away, or in celebration of a survivor.

“I think the first year, being in this atmosphere, it may have affected them a little bit,” said Riverside coach Chelsea Lucas-Nicholas, who said she felt her team came out a little flat in spite of the final result. “Overall, though, I thought the night was an awesome experience. Tonight, each girl played for something else, for someone else. I think they all enjoyed it.”

Riverside’s Taylor Terrio said that the Rebels were determined to not let this match slip away, with another big clash with John Curtis looming two days later – the Comets entered the game in third place in District 4-IV and were still alive in the race for the district crown.

“We knew this was a big game today, that if we win, then it’s just between us and Curtis,” said Terrio. “We wanted to give our all … We were playing for loved ones, in honor of people who survived and in memory of others. It gave us an extra push.”

Toni Hebert had 23 assists and eight kills. Kendra Turner had 15 kills while Daniele Sharp added 14. Taylor Terrio had 17 assists and four kills. Katie Bailey had 13 digs and Jordan Duhon served two aces.

For St. Charles, Courtney Snyder had five kills and 10 digs. Brooke Tregre had 12 assists. Brittany Tregre had two aces and Brissa Alarcon had a block.

The loss was the lone blemish for SCC on a week that saw the Comets win matches against East St. John and Loranger.

“If we play our best, I feel like we can play (with Riverside),” said St. Charles coach Kristin Sullivan. “But I felt like we were maybe a little timid … We made a run in the second game, then they put it away and I felt like we shut down after that.

“It’s something we’ve struggled with this season… It’s a mental thing. We have to do a better job of playing through those things and leaving it all on the court.”

Leading 6-5 in the first game, Riverside began to pull away and into full control; a Turner kill capped a 5-1 run that put RA ahead 11-6.

Nicole Doming kept SCC afloat; a Doming kill pulled SCC within 11-7, then another kept SCC within five at 15-10.

Then Turner began to assert herself for Riverside. A trio of consecutive kills preceded an ace by Bailey, making it 19-11. Sharp landed a pair of spikes for the 23rd and 24th points of the game before Hebert finished things with one of her own.

A Duhon ace capped a 4-0 Rebel run to begin the next game. SCC hung around, though, and put together their best performance of the night. Snyder landed kills for her team’s third, fifth and sixth points; an Alarcon tip and a Doming kill helped SCC pull within one at 11-10.

Riverside got going again and pulled out to an 18-12 lead. But a Alarcon block made it 18-14. Duhon slammed down a point for the Rebels, but Snyder fired back with a spike of her own to make it 19-15. St. Charles pulled within three at 20-17, but the Rebels closed the game out strong from there. A Cameron Hymel dink and a Sharp kil capped a 4-0 run, and a Comet error on a return stood for the final point.

The Rebels were determined to finish in three and essentially put the third game away early. After a Brooke Tregre ace pulled SCC within two at 6-4, Riverside went on an 8-0 run, cappeed by a Terrio kill. Snyder recorded a kill and then an ace to make it 14-6, but Riverside’s surge continued. RA went on to score 10 of the last 11 points in the match, closing things with three consecutive kills by Turner.

“We wanted to end it early,” said Terrio. “We knew we didn’t play our best in the second game, and we wanted to end on a good note and give the fans a show.”

ST. CHARLES DEF. EAST ST. JOHN IN FIVE – The Comets and East St. John were supposed to square off early this season, but Hurricane Issac led to the match being rescheduled. On Thursday, the teams finally met, and St. Charles won a back-and-forth game in five, 25-21, 25-20, 16-25, 22-25, 15-9.

Megan Ruiz had 35 digs. Brissa Alarcon had seven kills. Courtney Snyder had two blocks. Nicole Doming had four aces. Brooke Tregre had 14 assists.

For East St. John, Diranique Daniels had 33 digs. Leiah Turner had 11 kills and three blocks. Jessica Sanford had 20 assists.

“We played with a lot of enthusiasm and intensity,” said Sullivan. “We were able to fight back when we struggled. I thought it was good for the girls to see that they can turn things around when things start to go badly. They see that they can fight.”

Sullivan said that the Comets’ defensive hustle was a major factor.

“We were scrappy,” she said. “Our defense has been big for us. We’ve had trouble finishing at the net at times, but we’re able to stay in games like this when we play well defensively.

“I asked them to keep going, to keep fighting and fighting, and that’s exactly what they did. They did a really good job.”

St. Charles downed Loranger in three games, 25-22, 25-11 and 25-14.

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