By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — After a flat performance in a 3-0 loss at home against Northlake Christian last week, Riverside’s players came together and said it was time for a change.

The results look promising. The Rebels started hot and held off a third-game rally by host St. Charles Catholic Tuesday to wrap up a 25-15, 25-12 and 25-21 victory in District 4-IV play.

“We came back with a different attitude,” Riverside setter Abby Bourgeois said, after finishing with a match-high 21 assists.  “We started talking more on the floor, getting one another into the right positions. We’re taking a much more positive attitude.”

Riverside coach Chelsey Lucas-Nicholas sees the change in her team and approves.

“That’s one of the biggest things I look to teach, having that mental strength,” Lucas-Nicholas said. “Be mentally strong, stick to the basics and taking care of the little things, and you’re going to have success.”

Hailee Eldridge had11 kills. TyJah Greenup had nine kills and two blocks. Briley Becker made 10 digs and served four aces. Maddie Duhon made nine digs.

For St. Charles, Kaitlyn Lowry had seven kills and two blocks. Lela Hill had three kills and Lexi Tran added two. Alyssa Arceneaux made 16 digs.

It was the second victory of the season for Riverside over St. Charles, the Rebels sweeping the Comets and sealing up second place in District 4-IV.

St. Charles began the match playing with a lot of emotion and in front of a loud and proud gym full of Comet fans. After scoring on a block to start the match, Lowry then scored on a dink to help ignite a 4-0 Comet run.

Eldridge got Riverside (24-11, 6-2) on the board with a kill of her own, though, and the Rebels then started to roll. Greenup made three consecutive kills in the midst of a 5-0 RA run that pushed the Rebels ahead 7-6; another Greenup spike made it 8-6. SCC called a time out after falling behind 14-7, but two Eldridge kills following the stoppage started another run, this one a 6-1 mark.

Two aces by Grace Mohon and a pair of kills by Lowry pushed SCC on a late run, but a Sydney Joseph kill helped RA seal the deal.

Riverside got off to another strong start in game two. A Becker kill gave RA a 9-4 lead, then another made it 13-5. Riverside’s lead never dipped below five from there. Two Greenup kills highlighted the Rebels’ final 8-2 run to close the game.

The Comets (13-16, 4-4) came out with an inspired push to begin the third game, taking a 7-2 advantage to start things off. Riverside rallied to tie things up on a Toni Perrin ace and took its first lead on an Eldridge spike. RA led 17-15 before SCC rattled off four straight points to go ahead 19-17.

SCC held 21-18 and 22-21 leads late, but couldn’t hold off the Rebels. A Becker spike led to a SCC return error to tie things up, then she served a go-ahead ace. Eldridge made a kill to make it a two-score lead, and another Comets return error closed things out.

“Coach told us to tear up the middle and that’s what we did, attack the middle of the floor,” Bourgeois said.

SCC coach Meghan Ericksen said the Comets have had a tendency to start slowly in matches, and that it cost her team on Tuesday.

“We made a lot of serving mistakes,” she said. “If we make our serves, we could have made this a much closer match.”

She credited the SCC fans in attendance for creating a lively atmosphere for the contest.

“Whatever sport it is here, we’ve got great support from one another,” Ericksen said. “It really builds it up and makes it fun to be a part of.”

RIVERSIDE DEF. ST. JAMES — Greenup served four aces and made eight kills, Perrin served 11 aces and Duhon served nine aces to lead Riverside to a sweep of St. James Monday.