Bradley, Mitchell providing big one-two punch as WSJ wins second match in a row

EDGARD – Very quietly, the West St. John Lady Rams volleyball team is starting to make some noise.

After taking the early part of this hurricane-ravaged season to get their feet on the ground, the Rams are coming on strong right now as the important district race is heading into the stretch run.

On Thursday afternoon, the Rams defeated Houma Christian in a grueling five-game match, winning their second straight league contest in a row to keep their playoff hopes alive.

For head coach Glenda Matos, in her first season guiding West St. John after a successful coaching stint in Dayton, Ohio, she believes the girls are starting to mesh at the perfect time.

“We had some young girls start the year, but they are putting it together now, and we can still make the playoffs if we keep this up,” she remarked.

Against Houma Christian, West St. John won the first two games 25-20 and 25-18, only to see the match get tied when the Rams dropped the second two games, 25-17, 25-18.

But in the third and decisive match, West St. John won 15-12 to pick up their second win in a row, and move their district mark out to 2-4.

“Our girls are really learning now, and you can see that in the way we are playing,” Matos added. “We’re just going to try and keep this up and hopefully still get in the playoffs.”

Leading the charge for the Rams is junior Sharda Bradley, who continues to play some outstanding volleyball for the team.

Against Houma Christian, she had 15 digs, 12 aces, 13 assists and four kills.

“Sharda is an outstanding athlete for this school, also in basketball and softball,” Matos said. “She has been a big spark for us since she has great eyes and is very quick. Nothing gets past her.”

Tranell Mitchell has provided a solid one-two punch with Bradley, as she had another big game with 10 kills on the front line, to go with three aces and two assists. Trena Songy rounded out the top performers with two aces and a dig.

West St. John tries to keep things moving forward on Monday when they host Plaquemines of St. John, then play at White Castle on Wednesday.