(Stanton) The Riverside Lady Dawgs are moving into a Class 1A Regional Volleyball Final thanks to a dramatic victory over #13 Stanton on Monday evening.
Riverside got the winning kill from Mack Olmstead-Mitchell to cap off a wild night against the Viqueens. Coach Brooke Flathers and company prevailed 25-19, 20-25, 27-25, 22-25, 16-14. “It was really exciting. I feel like mentally our girls are prepared for matches like this. They dig in deep every day at practice, we play good teams all season, and they were ready to pull that one out. I thought they did a nice job.”
Posting 36 assists in the win was Ayla Richardson. Veronica Andrusyshyn had a team best 17 kills and Olmstead-Mitchell added 13. Sophia Taylor contributed 8 kills while Elly Henderson and Richardson finished with 5 each. Four players reached double figures in digs with 14 from Elyssa Admor, 13 for Richardson, 12 out of Carly Henderson, and 11 digs from Madison Baldwin. Taylor led the team in blocks with 3 and aces with 5. Richardson tallied 4 ace serves.
Riverside used an 8-1 stretch in the opening set to build an 18-10 lead. After Stanton fell behind by as many as eight points, they were able to rally with a span that saw them score five of the next six points, but they were only able to inch back as close as 22-18.
Stanton went on a 6-0 run early in the 2nd set to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 6-2 lead. The home squad built the lead up to 18-12 before Riverside started to chip away. The Lady Dawgs snugged things up as close as three on a couple of occasions, but couldn’t get over the hump.
Stanton led much of the 3rd, but Riverside used a 5-0 swing late to steal the set. Stanton appeared to have seized control with a 9-1 spurt to lead 15-11, but the Corner Conference representatives eventually saw a 22-20 lead slip away.
In the 4th set Stanton rarely trailed. They used runs of 5-0 and 4-0 in the early stages to lead 9-4. Coach Jody Druivenga’s team led by as many as 9 points at 19-10 before Riverside came firing back. The Lady Dawgs took a 21-20 lead with an 11-1 spree, but Stanton righted the ship with five of the final six points and forced a 5th set.
Breathing room was hard to come by in the last frame. There were ties of 1-1, 2-2, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, and 14-14 as each side fought tooth and nail to keep their season alive. Stanton actually claimed a late 14-13 lead, but Riverside pushed back from the brink of elimination with the final three points of the night to win in five sets. Coach Flathers used a timeout when they faced match point and told the team, “That they needed to believe in themselves and they’ve got this. I truly believe in this team every step of the way. Sometimes it’s getting them to believe in themselves, but I feel like they did it for each other tonight and it was a big team win for them.”
Stanton ends their season at 30-9. Riverside, now 32-5, advances to face Class 1A #3 (22-7) Gehlen Catholic, Lemars on Wednesday. The Jays swept (20-6) St. Mary’s, Remsen 25-23, 25-20, 25-17 on Monday. KSOM will broadcast Wednesday’s Regional Final from Denison with a first serve at 7:00.
