Ruston volleyball sweeps Captain Shreve

Ruston volleyball delivered a gator roll to Captain Shreve Monday evening at the RHS gymnasium in a clean sweep (25-11, 25-18, 2518) to improve to 14-10 overall.

Sophomore setter Baylor Cauley delivered an all- around performance with 20 assists, 4 service aces, 2 blocks, and 9 digs, while her sister, senior outside hitter Harper Cauley, put up 13 kills, 3 aces, and 5 digs. Ava Crowe finished with 5 kills and a block, while Jane Ramsey had 3 kills and 2 blocks — her first game of the season with multiple kills and at least 3 blocks. Kyndal Fobbs and Rilee Atwood combined for 5 aces as well.

“I thought the girls came out ready to play,” Ruston head coach Amanda Cauley said. “And sometimes, some tougher experiences will bring out the best in you. And I really felt like we were firing on all cylinders. The lineup I put out there worked really well. Mainly, our serve-receive was consistent.”

In the first set, Ruston was locked in an early fight, but strong serves from Fobbs and Atwood allowed the Bearcats to pull ahead 11- 4. Ruston never looked back, leading 19-9 before closing out the first frame with a comfortable 25-11 win.

Harper had 4 kills in the first set while Fobbs and Atwood put up their 5 aces.

Set two was the closest frame of the night, with Captain Shreve beginning to serve tougher, causing defensive lapses for the Bearcats in the early goings, leading to ties at 6-6 and 9-9.

But out of the 9-9 tie, Ruston began to pull ahead thanks to stronger communication and timely kills from Harper and Crowe to put Ruston in front 16-11.

But Shreve stayed in the fight, cutting the deficit to 18-16 to force a late Ruston timeout. The stoppage settled Ruston down, as the Bearcats closed the set on a 7-2 run, led by big swings from Ramsey and Harper to win 25-18.

The final set started close once again, with both teams trading offense to bring the frame to an early 7-7 standstill. But thanks to an 8-2 run for the Bearcats, featuring a big kill from Katelyn Rollins, and strong net presence from Crowe and Ramsey, Ruston pulled away to lead 15-9. Shreve would try to threaten late by cutting the deficit to 20-15 but Ruston finished the Gators off 25-18.

Now 6- 0 in their home gym, the Bearcats will try to build on the momentum of the win as the final stretch of the regular season approaches with only 11 matches left.

“One of the things we talked about over the weekend, which was a tough weekend, was the time is now,” Cauley said. “‘[ Assistant coach Caleb Wug] and I have told you guys, we’ve shown you guys, and it is really time for you to step into your ownership.’ That was the word I used after the team meeting was, ‘ It’s time for ownership. We’ve done relationships, we’ve done mentorship. But now, it’s ownership. You guys have to step into owning your process and owning the outcome.’ Now, it’s time for us to do it.”

Ruston returns to action on Thursday for a makeup home game against Episcopal of Acadiana. The match will begin at 4 p.m.