RHS volleyball depth shines in West Ouachita victory

The Ruston High volleyball team took care of West Ouachita in straight sets (25-16, 25-17, 25-11) on Monday, improving to 9-3 on the season.

And the Bearcats have their depth to thank the most for the win.

Senior Cala Wilson led the team with nine kills on the night while adding four aces and two blocks. Katelyn Rollins, a junior, finished with four digs, four aces, and was efficient in her passes throughout the match. Senior Allie Richardson led the team with 16 digs to go with four aces.

“I want to commend tonight three players. I got my steadies that always show up. But tonight, I had some kids really step up,” Ruston head coach Amanda Cauley said postgame. “Katelyn Rollins – serving and a 2.6 passer rating. She did phenomenal. Allie Richardson’s passing was 2.25 – phenomenal. And Cala Wilson. I think nine kills and she gives me all kinds of hustle. Rylee Atwood stepped up on the back row too. Those other players. Could not have done it without them. So proud of how well they stepped up.”

The usual suspects of Hannah Rollins, Harper Cauley, and Jade Smith finished with six, six, and seven kills each. Smith, returning from illness, added three blocks as well.

Ruston started strong in the first set with the Chiefs, building an early 7-3 lead to force a West Ouachita timeout as the Bearcats’ passing and attacks were on point. But the Chiefs would keep it close out of the break, eventually tying the set at 8-8. The Bearcats went on a 5-0 run to get back to a comfortable advantage, but West Ouachita kept chipping away and got back close to 18-16 in the closing stages.

From there, Wilson stepped up to serve and delivered the final blows with three aces over the final seven points for Ruston to win the set 25-16.

In the second set, the Bearcats started strong again with a 6-1 lead to force another early Chiefs timeout, but service errors and net issues allowed West Ouachita to climb back on the scoreboard to get the frame to 6-4 and eventually 10- 9 with Ruston continuing to have miscues at the service line. But before long, the Bearcats went back up thanks to a 7-3 run to give them a workable lead over the final stages of the set. Smith’s strong play at the net came through in the final six points, including a crushing block and a big swing to score the final point to win 25-17.

Ruston capped off the evening with its best set of the match, cruising along with efficiency and hustle from both starters and bench players. The Bearcats wasted no time building a 12-5 lead and eventually 15-7 to force one last West Ouachita timeout. But it was to no effect as Ruston closed the set and match on a 10-4 run.

“Always good to get a sweep,” Cauley said. “I thought we built as the night went on. We weren’t sure what to expect exactly and they were sending us a lot of free balls, but difficult free balls. They were sending them to the corners which was really smart of them. We had a hard time at first adjusting to that. I’m proud of the win.

As for the play of the Bearcats’ depth in a solid road win, Cauley was pleased with what it could mean for the rest of the year.

“The depth makes me super excited,” Cauley said. “The fact that we can make subs and still have momentum is huge. Every sub that gets in and the team keeps rolling, that’s vital to our overall success, particularly this season.”

Ruston hosted West Monroe Tuesday evening to open district play and returns to action on Thursday at Loyola Prep Academy.