By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

BATON ROUGE — Riverside’s on its way to the Pontchartrain Center.

The Rebels secured their spot in the state volleyball tournament Monday night at Episcopal, where Riverside swept the Knights in three games, 27-25, 25-22, 25-16 in a regional round Division IV playoff game.

“I’m surprised we finished it in three, not that I didn’t believe we could,” said Riverside coach Kristy Hebert. “But I expected a very hard fought match and it’s exactly what we got when you look at the scores. All three games were back and forth. Our girls played very well, a very disciplined match.”

Riverside (27-7) will face Catholic-New Iberia in Thursday’s quarterfinal round. The time was not yet determined at presstime. Catholic-New Iberia is the top seed in Division IV.

The Rebels led 23-20 in the first game but would see Episcopal rattle off three straight points to tie the game. The teams traded points until 25, where Riverside regrouped and knocked home two straight to take a 1-0 lead.

“Once we won the first one, it really pushed us forward,” said Hebert.

It effectively seized the momentum for the ninth-seeded Rebels, who rode that wave over their eighth-seeded counterpart.

Shea LaFountain had a match-high 19 kills to lead Riverside. Kristy Milioto notched 16. Taylor Terrio had 19 assists while Toni Hebert chipped in with 17, Shelby Deslatte garnered 24 digs, and she, Milioto, LaFountain and Kelsi Roussel all collected four aces.

Coach Hebert said the Rebels’ defense was the difference in the victory.

“Defensively, we played great tonight,” said Hebert. “Not many balls hit the ground. We were really prepared and I think our defense was able to frustrate them at times.”