District dominance

River Ridge remains perfect in the district, beating Land O'Lakes in four games.

By MIKE TOMPKINS
Published October 6, 2005

LAND O'LAKES - In Wednesday's Class 5A, District 6 matchup between River Ridge and Land O'Lakes, the Royal Knights overcame a first-game loss to defeat the tenacious Gators 23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-23.

The victory completed an undefeated district season (11-1 overall, 8-0) for River Ridge, which hosts Tuesday's district tournament as the top seed.

"Land O'Lakes played well," said coach Heidi Castelamare, whose team is gunning for its ninth district title in the past 11 years. "They have shown much improvement from the last time we played them."

And her girls?

"We played okay," she said. "We had some hitting errors. It was loud, but we have to get used to that because that's how it's going to be in the bigger games. I'd like us to be more consistent."

The Royal Knights were led by Brittany Castelamare, who had 22 service points, three aces, nine kills and two blocks.

Her ability to reel off three or four service points in a row allowed River Ridge to gain some much-needed momentum.

"She's got a tough serve. She's got a float serve, which is different from the top-spin serve that the girls usually see. Plus, she can put the ball where I want it, when I want it," the coach said.

Brooke Castelamare and Tarah Bigger paced River Ridge with 10 kills each, while Brittany Frey led the Royal Knights with three blocks.

[Last modified October 6, 2005, 01:14:18]