By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — The roster may be young, but it sure didn’t stop the Ruston High Lady Bearcats (1-0) from coming out of the gate for a season opening sweep over El Dorado in straight sets, 25-11, 25-14 and 25-9.
“I’m very pleased,” Ruston High Head Coach Mandy Cauley said. “I thought we did a great job of controlling things. I feel like we won the serve and pass game, which made it easy for us to execute our offense. And I was pleased we took some risks — I want them to make the errors now and take some big swings.
“I was pleased with everybody’s passing, setting and hitting. There wasn’t one area of the game where I felt like we were lacking.”
Ruston comfortably took set one 25-11 thanks in large part to a combined 13 kills between juniors Jane Ramsey and Baylor Cauley and sophomore Bridget Crittenden. Sophomore Brooklyn Bissell added two aces and a kill.
The Lady Bearcats also took set two at 25-14, even after surrendering a 6-0 run to the Lady Wildcats. Once Cauley took over serving, however, Ruston outscored El Dorado 8-1 during her time at the service line. Ramsey added five more kills in the set, while Cauley added three aces.
In the final set of the night, Ruston held El Dorado to single digits in points at 25-9. Senior Camille Smith finished the set with two aces, while Ramsey aded three more kills.
Ramsey led the team with 13 kills total, while Cauley added six for the night.
Head Coach Cauley is counting on that tandem for the 2025 campaign for production, while also noting the efforts of Crittenden and sophomore Naomi Smith.
“They’re my core returners,” Cauley said of Jane and Baylor. “They’re the ones with the most embedded experience, so we’re relying on them. Jane knows the burden of knowing she needs to produce this year, and there’s been days she’s been timid and we’ve had to push her out of her comfort zone. I want her to see what happens when she swings. But the chemistry of those two is special, and it’s fun to watch. And I feel like that’s going to develop with everybody. I like the direction we’re all going.”
Ruston returns to action Thursday, Sept. 4, against Parkway at home. Junior varsity will play at 4 p.m., with varsity at 5 p.m.
