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Royal Knights wrap up top seed

With a victory against Mitchell, River Ridge improves to 17-1 and locks up the No. 1 seed for the Class 4A, District 8 tournament.

By JOHN C. COTEY

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 26, 2001

TRINITY -- In a season filled with easy two-game matches, River Ridge craved a test Tuesday from Mitchell and got one.

Both games were tied late, and both times the Royal Knights pulled away to win a match more difficult than any they've faced in recent weeks. Coach Heidi Castelamare wasn't ready to hand out high praise, though.

"We didn't play well," she said. "Our passing was not very good tonight."

But good enough for a 15-9, 15-13 victory in a Class 4A, District 8 contest. Adding to its best start in school history, River Ridge improved to 17-1 and clinched the top seed in the district tournament. Ali Bigger led a balanced attack with six kills while Dawn Conner and Rachel Osterholt had five and Ashlee Brower added four.

Conner's jump serving in Game 2 helped River Ridge pull away from a 7-7 tie to score five consecutive points. The Royal Knights led 13-8 before the young, second-year Mustangs fought back with five consecutive points to tie it.

However, Dawn Conner blasted two kills -- the second angled cross-court and bounced cleanly off the floor for the match winner.

"I just thought, 'Finally -- we beat them like we should have,' " Conner said. "That game should have been over a long time ago.

"I think at the beginning of the first game we were kind of timid. Everybody made this game to be so much, and it really wasn't."

For Mitchell coach Joe Dixon, the Mustang rally was a welcome sight. In his team's previous meeting with River Ridge, the Mustangs were tied 8-8 in both games before "shutting it down," he said. And in the first game Tuesday, it was tied at 9 before Krystal Dennis served six consecutive points to end the game.

In the second game, though, Mitchell erased four deficits and was serving for game point before Bigger's kill ended the rally.

"We got closer," Dixon said. "I hate to keep beating that young drum, but ..."

The Mustangs, who have played eight fewer matches than River Ridge and have no seniors, dropped to 6-4.

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