Lady Skippers sweep Lady Panthers Tuesday

Mandeville senior Elizabeth Rinaudo dished out 18 assists while pulling up 11 digs and putting down six kills in a 25-10, 25-15, 25-13, victory over Northshore in Tuesday’s district match at NHS.

Rinaudo spread the ball around. Freshman Katie Lindelow recorded 13 kills, while junior Kelsey Sparks posted 11, sophomore Nichole Freeman tallied eight and senior Mel Gaines finished with six.

Rinaudo credited her hitters for her ability to pass to different people.

“This year, we have a great front row. That’s what we lacked a lot last year. This year, I can just set the ball anywhere, and we can get a kill,” Rinaudo said.

Mandeville (24-9) was 11-2 in district at press time Thursday with a game against Covington yesterday. Northshore (9-15) slipped to 6-7 in league play.

In the first game, the Lady Skippers came out strong and led 7-1. After NHS cut it to 7-2, Mandeville tallied the next four points to go up 11-2.

Then the Lady Panthers came up with three in a row, but Sparks ended the run with a kill, and MHS had a 12-5 advantage.

After Northshore scored, the Lady Skippers went on a 4-0 run and grabbed a commanding 16-6 lead. Northshore got no closer as Mandeville won the first contest, 25-10.

In the second game, Mandeville scored the first five points. Northshore got back into the game by getting the next two-of-three as Tory Hearn’s kill made it 6-2.

But MHS got the next two points and had an 8-2 advantage.

After that it was clear sailing for the Lady Skippers. Holding an 8-4 lead, Mandeville went on a 7-0 run with Summer Burglass serving two aces during the spurt to put MHS ahead, 15-4.

Mandeville had a 24-12 advantage, but Northshore avoided game point three times in a row before the Lady Skippers took the victory, 25-15.

In the third game, unlike the first two, the Lady Skippers didn’t get off to a commanding start.

“The third game, Northshore made it tough to jump out. They were right there with us the first 10 points,” Mandeville coach Christy Sanantonio said.

The Lady Skippers had a 6-4 lead and the teams exchanged points to make it 7-5.

Mandeville scored three points in a row to get a more comfortable 10-5 advantage, but the Lady Panthers fought back and trimmed it to 10-8. A kill by Rinaudo upped the lead to 11-8. NHS scored two-of-three points and out the deficit to, 12-10.

After that Mandeville took total control of the game and the match, finishing with a 13-3 run to close it out at 25-13.

Mandeville’s Lindelow finished with 11 digs, while Gaines had nine digs and Burglass added 14 assists.

Northshore’s Richelle Saluga tallied seven digs and eight assists, while Catie Bates posted five digs. Tory Hearn had seven digs, four blocks and two aces. Sierra Bickham contributed six digs and four blocks for the Lady Panthers.

Northshore coach Sandy Blancher credited Mandeville with the way they played.

“It was a very fast executed game by Mandeville. So it was hard to read where they were coming from,” Blancher said.