By Kyle Roberts
Wednesday evening was monumental for Ruston’s volleyball team for a few reasons.
First, obviously, it was a win to advance to the second round of the 2022 playoffs.
Second, it was a road sweep of a really solid Terrebonne Tiger team in their own gym.
Third, it was the first road playoff victory in program history.
For Ruston head coach Lucie Hunt, it was business as usual for her squad.
“We just want to take care of what’s in front of us and win,” Hunt said. “To be honest, I didn’t know it was the first road playoff win until someone brought it to my attention. It’s not what you’re thinking of going into it; you’re just thinking of the need to win. To be able to go down to Terrebonne and take care of business and play the way we did and overcome some errors, that’s awesome for us and an awesome feeling for those girls to be able to do something like that.”
The Lady Bearcats swept the Tigers in three sets by final scores of 28-26, 25-19, and 25-15. It was an impressive night all around for Ruston’s volleyball program, who ended up being the only underdog to advance in their playoff bracket.
“At first, we just needed to settle some of our nerves,” Hunt said about the Wednesday performance. “They did not have one of their main players that night, but their other middle was someone who we knew we had to prepare for. We had the right mentality going into the game.”
The task gets much tougher, if you look at the rankings: No. 18 Ruston heads back south to New Orleans to take on the Mt. Carmel Cubs.
“We’ve watched film and looked at things, and I believe this is doable,” Hunt said. “They are a solid team, and they’re smart. We’re looking at some different stuff to see if we can throw them off their game. Mt. CarmeI makes it to the state tournament every year.”
It’s the right plan for the program; ignore the seeds and go out and play the best that you can.
“If we show up and take care of business and play like we know we can play, then it can be a phenomenal match and leave there with a win and get to go to the state tournament for the first time,” Hunt said. “We have some very consistent hitters that are smart in their placement, and hopefully we can show up and prove some people wrong.”
The match will be played at 2 p.m. today and will be streamed on Ruston’s High Volleyball’s Facebook page.
