By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

LAPLACE – Local district 10-2A fans will tell you that any win against John Curtis is a good one. And it’s especially so when it’s a district opener.

So it was Thursday evening when St. Charles Catholic volleyball played host to Curtis in a fast-paced four-game match that put the Lady Comets at 1-0 to start district play.

The SCC team stumbled out of the gate for the opening game, quickly falling behind before the Lady Comets could break the Lady Patriot run. The score ran up to 1-7 before Katie Reine rotated into the St. Charles line-up to help handle the serve, and Brooke Becker completed it with a spike to put Gina Monica in the server’s box.

From there, Monica and Meg Gustafason sparked the Comet offense back into a tie with a handful of aces and booming serves. But the Lady Patriots regained momentum to take a six point lead at one time in the match.

After a timeout, the Lady Comets seemed to adjust offensively with second-hit tip-overs from Monica at the setter position. Becker came through on three consecutive volleys with her net play to lead the SCC surge to a 21-22 score before taking the lead on a Curtis offensive error.

The game ultimately ended the same way, giving a 25-22 win to the home team and energy to the student section that helped the Lady Comets get a fast start in the second game. After SCC took a six-point lead, the Lady Patriots made a few adjustments of their

own and made a game of it all the way to a 22-21 score. But the Lady Comets finished it off with some deep sets and aggressive kills in the 25-23 victory.

Curtis avoided the sweep with a 25-18 win over the St. Charles squad, a game in which the SCC coach became animated with frustration from the sideline after her team’s defense had trouble fielding the Curtis serve and volleys.

The Lady Comet squad redeemed themselves with an efficient fourth game, allowing them to take advantage of the errors committed by Curtis in a tight, back-and-forth match. Coniglio provided a block and a kill late in the game to help seal it, and the game point came on a Curtis net ball that made it 25-21.