By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

NEW ORLEANS — Riverside’s volleyball season came to an end Friday evening against a tough Newman squad, the Rebels falling to the Greenies 25-11, 25-17 and 25-15 in a Division IV regional round playoff game.

Newman advanced to the state quarterfinals at the Pontchartrain Center.

“Our girls played well,” said Riverside coach Briget Melancon. “It wasn’t something where we made a lot of awful mistakes or gave anything away. Size was definitely an issue for us. We played a solid game, but Newman (25-10) is a strong team.”

Toni Hebert finished with 13 assists and five kills for Riverside (18-18). Danielle Sharp had 10 kills and four blocks. Shelby Deslatte had 26 digs.

For Newman, Kristen Parker had 21 digs. Jamie Hawkins had 14 kills while Avery Rowan had 13 kills. Hailey Becker had seven blocks and Kiley Ezzell had 35 assists.

“They had a dominant hitter and we weren’t able to get our blocks up on her,” said Melancon.

Riverside dealt with myriad injuries this season and a brutal schedule. Melancon said that she hoped her players didn’t leave Newman’s gym down on themselves in light of what they accomplished this year, including winning a district championship.

“I hope they held their heads high,” said Melancon. “We had a lot of players who played a strong game (against Newman).” We overcame a lot of adversity, were never really able to establish the continuity we’d have liked. They overcame it and hopefully we can take it a step further next season.”

Riverside will bring back much of the same team, as all but two players are underclassman.