(Denison) The Riverside volleyball team advanced to the Class 1A State Tournament with a convincing 3-1 win over 3rd rated Gehlen Catholic on Wednesday. The Lady Dawgs prevailed 25-19, 25-22, 14-25, and 25-18 in the match played at Denison.
They improve to 33-5 on the season and have topped back-to-back ranked opponents to get to Coralville. Riverside shook off some early jitters with a 6-0 run in the opening set. They went from trailing 6-5 to leading 11-6 and never gave up the lead. Gehlen Catholic closed within three points on four occasions, but never got closer.
In the 2nd set Riverside faced an 18-10 deficit. The 22-8 Jays appeared to be catching their stride with a 10-0 run to lead by as much as eight points. Riverside countered with the next five points and put together a 10-2 stretch. The Lady Dawgs evened the score at 23-all and then scored the final two to grab a 2-0 edge in the match.
Gehlen Catholic’s best volleyball was played in the 3rd. The Jays broke a 4-4 tie with six straight points. They would score 9 of the final 10 in the frame to win it 25-14 and get on the board in the match.
Riverside rarely trailed in the final set. A 14-2 spree pushed the lead to as big as 22-10. Gehlen Catholic did show a late fight on a 6-0 stretch, but never got any closer than a six point deficit.
Ayla Richardson posted 28 assists, 6 digs, and 3 blocks. Veronica Andrusyshyn had 19 kills, 2 aces, 9 digs, and 1 block. Madison Baldwin submitted 17 digs. Mack Olmstead-Mitchell finished with 10 kills, 1 dig, and 3 blocks. Carly Henderson added 9 digs and 2 aces. Elyssa Amdor recorded 2 kills and 4 digs. Sophia Taylor had 5 kills, 1 ace, 2 digs, and 6 blocks. Elly Henderson registered 4 kills, 1 dig, and 3 blocks.
Riverside will play top seed (37-3) Springville on Tuesday, November 1st at 6:00 p.m.
