By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — Riverside looked every bit the part of a strong state contender Thursday as it stormed past visiting Catholic-New Iberia, 25-18, 25-13 and 25-15 in a regional round playoff game to advance to the Division IV state quarterfinals.

The No. 7 seed Rebels will match up with second-seeded De La Salle at the Pontchartrain Center Thursday. De La Salle defeated Thomas Jefferson in three games in the regional; both teams earned a first round bye.

Kendra Turner had 13 kills and three aces for Riverside. Toni Hebert had 19 assists, seven kills and 11 digs. Katie Bailey had 15 digs. Danielle Sharp had five kills and Taylor Terrio had 12 assists and four kills.

“Getting to the (state volley ball tournament at) the Pontchartrain Center is a big accomplishment. It’s something we’ve talked about,” said Riverside coach Chelsey Lucas-Nicholas. “But we’ve said, it’s not just about winning district or getting there. It’s about them stepping up and grabbing this opportunity.

“And they aren’t trying to do it through individual efforts. They’re doing it together as a team.”

While Riverside (28-11) controlled the majority of the match, things were back and forth early. Catholic’s Vaterra Calais and Kaselyn Freyou generated some early momentum with a trio of blocks at the net, and the team took a 12-11 lead on a kill by Meredith Musso.

With the score tied at 13, Turner landed a kill to put RA ahead. A Danielle Sharp kill pushed Riverside ahead 20-18. Catholic cut it to one, but Hebert slammed a kill to kickstart a game-ending Rebel 5-0 run, one that she’d finish off with another spike.

Riverside surged out early in the second game. A pair of Turner kills gave RA a 7-3 advantage, then the Rebels went on a 7-0 run after leading 8-5, extending it to a 15-5 advantage. RA coasted from there.

It was more of the same in the third game. Riverside led 11-3 after a Terrio kill, then 15-5 after back to back scoring hits by Hebert. Catholic would not get closer than eight the rest of the way.

“We just trusted each other,” said Turner. “We understood that we had to put it away, and to do that we play the game of volleyball the way we can. I thought the biggest thing was we communicated really well.”