Lady Wolves claim regional win over Berwick

RAYNE - In a three-game match that went into extra points, the No. 5-ranked Rayne High Lady Wolves defeated Berwick here Monday in the regional round of the 4-A state playoffs, qualifying for the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Volleyball State Tournament to be held this week (Nov. 13-15) at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.
The Lady Wolves are making it two-in-a-row by qualifying for the state tournament, last year having to face an odd opponent, their district champions, Teurlings, in the quarters. Rayne will face No. 4-ranked Parkview Baptist in this year’s quarters during a 2:30 p.m. contest today (Thursday).
“It was a good match and our girls played well,” stated Rayne High Coach Stephanie Garrett of Monday’s win, “But, I’m still seeing peaks and valleys while we play. When you get to this point, that can’t happen against good teams like this -- if you do, you have a close match like we had today.”
Both teams saw lead changes early on in the opening game. With a 8-4 Rayne lead, compliments of hitters Tarya Kanonu and Katie Benoit, Berwick used a timeout; afterwhich, gain momentum with a block and kill by Abigail Askew.
With a Berwick missed served, the pendalum swung towards Rayne taking a 17-11 lead with kills by Charlesha Dugas and Blair Bergeron and solid back row coverage by Whitney Fontenot and Shelli Alleman.
Following another Berwick timeout, Laney Boudreaux struck with another ace and a five-point service for a 21-11 Rayne lead.
On a foot fault at midcourt, Berwick’s Emma Hover took to the service line for five straight points at 21-16, forcing a Rayne time out.
Berwick’s Askew, Kylie Henson and Ashton Morales delivered three straight kills for a 22-20 score. Morales served an ace and Askew faced off a block for a 22-all tie and another time out by Rayne.
With a couple kills and wide hits by both teams, the score was again knotted at 26-all before Rayne’s Benoit put down a kill on the back line and Dugas put up a big block for the 28-26 Rayne win of the first game of the match.
Game two saw Berwick take a slight 13-7 lead behind a strong front row game by Morales and Askew, along with a slight miscommunication among Rayne players.
Following a Rayne time out and a Berwick mis-hit, Dugas and Laney Boudreaux each put down kills to tighten up the score at 10-13. But, Sydney Aucoin and Morales recorded each a kill of her own for a 13-19 Berwick lead.
Behind a strong service of Taryn Kanonu, the Rayne offense took advantage of Berwick mis-hits to tie up the game at 20-all. the front row of Dugas, Peltier and Bergeron recorded seven straight hits for points.
Berwick answered with a kill by Askew and a block by Jordan Lipari and Morales for a 21-23 lead before Rayne’s Dugas slammed a point off a Berwick miscue for a 24-all score.
Following a Berwick timeout, Berwick collected a point off a Rayne net violation, but answered with a kill by Dugas and Kanonu for the win of game two which seemed to take the wind out of Berwick for the third and final game.
The Lady Wolves claimed a 8-5 lead off a solid serving effort by Kelli Alleman and a strong front row attack. Rayne maintained a consistent back row play behind Fontenot, Alleman and Tristan Mouton, while the front row was led in a rotation by Peltier, Kanonu and Benoit.
The second half of the third game saw Berwick with hits by Askew, Morales and Mary Jordan Melancon, but the Rayne lead was too much to overcome as Kanonu slammed the final kill of the match for the 25-16 win.
“We played like this all year -- when we play a good team, we play good and vice versa,” stated Garrett on the win. “With a consistent game and if we never give up on ourselves, we can keep our play to a winning level. We can and I hope we will this week.”
With a win today at 2:30 p.m., the Lady Wolves will meet the Teurlings (1) - Dela Salle (8) winner on Friday at near the noon hour in the semis. The finals are slated Saturday at 2 p.m.