Riverside netters sweep conference opponents

The Riverside Lady Rebels returned home from a busy road weekend with a 4-0 standing in the Class 1A Northwest Conference after handing out defeats to Meeteetse, Dubois and Fort Washakie.
“The girls continue to work hard and are showing a lot of improvement,” said Coach Cindi Smith.
Starting off strong with a victory over Meeteetse on Friday, the Rebel netters didn’t post their most impressive stats, but they got the job done in three sets, 25-11, 25-18, 25-14.
The team served at 86% with Dakota Cervantes leading at 100%, Brooklynn Paxton at 96% with 10 aces and Anna Stone at 91% with three aces.
Paxton and Vinaya VanderPloeg put down nine kills apiece and put up a strong defense with nine and eight digs, respectively. Cervantes provided 22 assists.
“The girls are developing into a stronger defensive unit. We will work and focus on this for continued growth,” Smith said.
Riverside claimed another three-set win in Dubois on Saturday, 25-17, 25-18, 25-14. Serving improved to 92%. Varissa Olsen stood at 95% with five aces, followed by VanderPloeg at 92% with seven aces. Mati Jones also secured three aces.
VanderPloeg and Paxton once again provided a solid offense and defense for the Rebels. VanderPloeg hit 14 kills and made 11 digs; Paxton nabbed nine kills and 13 digs. Cervantes set up 22 assists.
The weekend’s final match followed a familiar pattern. Riverside dominated Fort Washakie in three sets, 25-7, 25-3, 25-12, for their third conference victory of the weekend.
Team serving stood at 91%. Kennedy Bassett had 100% serving accuracy, Paxton had 96% with 15 aces and Cervantes had 93% with six aces. VanderPloeg added four aces to the board.
“Serving has been one of our focus points, and we showed solid growth, improving on our team serving percentage,” said Smith. She singled out Paxton for praise, stating, “Brooklynn did a great job serving aggressively while staying at a high percentage. She had 10 and 15 aces in two of the matches.”
Consistency has been the name of Riverside’s game this season. Paxton and VanderPloeg notched 10 and nine kills, respectively. Cervantes provided 16 assists, and Paxton and Stone made five digs each.
The Lady Rebels traveled to Greybull on Tuesday for the annual pink games to raise money and awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
“It’s always nice to have the opportunity to come together as a community for a good cause,” Smith commented.
The Riverside netters will host Ten Sleep on their home court Thursday (tonight) with a varsity-only game at 6 p.m. The following Monday, Oct. 2, Riverside’s C team hits the road to play the Lady Buffs in Greybull at 6:15 p.m.