EDGARD — West St. John High’s volleyball season ended Tuesday night with a loss against Dunham by scores of 25-12, 25-7 and 27-25.

The team (6-6) came into the playoffs with third place District ranking.

Head coach Tahajenik Melancon said the first two sets of the final game against Dunham started off slow, noting the team’s performance was “off.” However, the 24th seed Lady Rams worked hard for a comeback, nearly taking a win in the third set.

“By the last set, it looked like they believed they belonged in the playoffs,” Melancon said.

Dunham was a formidable opponent, and the players were skilled at effectively and aggressively spiking the ball, according to Melancon.

Amiya Lumar and Jazzmen Jackson were standout players in the team’s final match, working hard along the net to guard against hitters.

Despite the loss, Melancon is happy to have made it to playoffs and is especially pleased with the camaraderie among teammates.

She said the team never fought or argued, and players consistently communicated with each other on the court.

“I’m proud of them for believing in each other,” Melancon said. “The communication was awesome. That’s what they needed: to believe and trust in each other.”

The team is losing only one graduating senior from its starting lineup. Looking forward to next season, Melancon intends to utilize the same tactics and continue to work on coverage.

Riverside Academy

Riverside Academy is rolling through volleyball playoffs, having advanced to quarterfinals after winning Thursday’s match against Catholic High – New Iberia by scores of 25-14, 25-12 and 25-18.

Head coach Brandi Melancon was proud of the girls’ performance during Thursday’s game. She said the team achieved a cumulative 12 aces, topping the previous season high by a large margin.

“During (Thursday) night’s game, it all came together for us,” Melancon said. “We passed the ball very well and were able to execute well on offense.”

She said the team did an excellent job spreading the ball around the court, and everyone contributed to the win.

Offensively, they achieved 36 kills, 15 of which came from Sydney Joseph. The team also had 28 defensive digs, and Abby Bourgeois contributed 31 assists.

Melancon said Catholic High – New Iberia put up a good fight and had very good coaching.

“At this point in the postseason, the team with the better ball control and whoever makes the fewest errors advances,” Melancon said.

The Lady Rebels have accomplished great feats on and off the court this season.

During the Oct. 12 pink game against John Curtis, the team raised $686 for the American Cancer Society on behalf of St. James Relay for Life team Queen for a Cure.

The money was raised through raffle sales of various items donated by St. James and St. John the Baptist Parish businesses in addition to a 50/50 fundraiser and a school wide initiative allowing students to wear a pink shirt for $1.

Before Thursday’s game against Catholic High – New Iberia, the team presented a check to Classic Miss St. James Relay for Life and 30-year Riverside Academy pre-k teacher Gay Duhon.

Melancon said special thanks go to Allison Bourgeois, Kelli Hymel and Amy St. Pierre for coordinating the event.

The Lady Rebels play against University Lab Thursday in the quarterfinal round, inching closer to a potential Nov. 11 championship game at the Pontchartrain Center.

St. Charles Catholic 

St. Charles Catholic took home a win against Patterson Tuesday, advancing to the regional round of playoffs before facing defeat against the fourth seed, highly competitive Archbishop Hannan Lady Hawks.

Head coach Meghan Ericksen said the team wasn’t sure what to expect going into Tuesday’s game against Patterson, but the girls found success implementing tactics they’d gone over in practice.

“We were able to dominate pretty well,” Eriksen said. “They were taller than us. We were able to capitalize on that in practice. We’d been practicing as if we were facing a team bigger than us.”

On the court, the Lady Comets came out on top of Patterson 3-0 with scores of 25-12, 25-16 and 25-17.

The team had less luck against Archbishop Hannan, ending the match 0-3 by scores of 25-2, 25-5 and 25-11.

“We went in knowing Hannan was an excellent team,” Ericksen said. “I think the girls went in with the mindset that we were going to lose. The first game was really bad. We changed our defense and did a little better the second game.”

Above all, Ericksen is proud of the girls for working through the hardships the season has brought, including changes in the practice schedule as a result of ongoing construction at SCC.

One of Ericksen’s most memorable moments was when the team achieved six consecutive wins at the Riverdale tournament in September after seeing a rocky start to the season.

With eight graduating seniors leaving the lineup, the team will have to rebuild next year.

Ericksen said the seniors have one of the most athletic groups she’s seen in a long time, and she’s coached Grace Mohon, Jade Brady, Haley St. Martin, Abbie Roussel and Shelby Ory since they were freshman.

Mohon and Jori Bryant put up a strong offensive front this season with 144 and 262 kills, respectively.

Ory aided the team’s defense by contributing 301 digs, and Bryant was responsible for 95 blocks.