By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Ruston High’s Lady Bearcats swept through No. 9 Chalmette 3-0 on Saturday, winning 25-12, 25-22 and 25-12 in the final home match for five Ruston seniors, as the program celebrated a trip to the quarterfinals as the No. 8 seen in the playoffs.
“I’m proud of every element of the game,” Ruston High head coach Mandy Cauley said. “We were so dominant at the net, and then our serve, receive and defense was just so good. There’s not an area of the game where I felt disappointed.”
Freshman outside hitter Josie Cauley led the Lady Bearcats with 17 kills, while freshman outside hitter Lily Bissell added 12 kills, four aces and 13 digs. Ruston finished with 38 kills, 12 aces and 59 digs.
Senior setter Baylor Cauley had 35 of the team’s 37 assists, along with 13 digs, one ace and one block credit. Junior libero Ellie Williams had two assists, two aces and a team-high 14 digs.
Ruston led by as many as 14 points in the match. Chalmette called a timeout at 14-8 in the first set, and the Lady Bearcats closed it out 25-12.
The second set was the closest — Ruston trailed by as many as four points, and Chalmette opened a 5-2 lead with five straight points. Ruston tied it at 15-15 and took a 16-15 lead on back-to-back-to-back aces by junior setter Bridget Crittenden, who finished with four scoring serves. Chalmette called timeouts at 16-15 and 21-18, and Ruston called one at 22-20. The Lady Bearcats finished the set 25-22.
Cauley said the team’s serving errors were a factor in the second set.
“We made too many errors in set two,” Cauley said. “We missed, I think, three at the service line in set two, which loses the momentum and gives them a point. There were more errors in set two for sure, but then we had the mental edge in set three.”
Ruston ran off eight straight points in the third set, going from 2-3 to 10-3, and Chalmette called a timeout at 8-3. The Lady Bearcats led 22-11 when they took a timeout of their own and won 25-12.
At the net, junior middle hitter Addie Powell and senior middle hitter Ava Crowe each had four block credits. Powell added four kills and Crowe three. Senior middle hitter Jane Ramsey had two kills and one block credit. Ruston had 24 errors to Chalmette’s 20, but 20 of the Lady Bearcats’ 75 points came on Chalmette errors.
Cauley singled out the play of Bissell and Josie Cauley, and said Williams played through illness.
“Lily (Bissell) and I stayed connected at the service line, talking about what she had open, and she was so receptive,” Cauley said. “She’d get ace after ace, and she was so coachable in that moment.”
Cauley said she was proud of Williams.
“Ellie (Williams) doesn’t feel well, and she came in and said, ‘Coach, I may have to come out, but I’m going to try not to,'” Cauley said. “For her to play that way, I’m proud of her.”
The match was the last home game for Baylor Cauley, Ramsey, Crowe, Kayden Walker and Brooklyn Bissell.
“The Ruston community that continues to show up and support us is amazing,” Cauley said. “I’m grateful for everybody that pours into these girls, because they deserve it.”
Ruston will play the winner of the match between No. 1 Mt. Carmel and No. 17 Dutchtown in the quarterfinals. The date and time has not been set as of yet.
