PATCH GROVE – With a three-game sweep of visiting Cassville last Thursday night, the River Ridge varsity volleyball team closed out the regular season with a Six Rivers West conference record of 11-1 and the out-right conference title for the second-year in a row.

The Timberwolves defeated the Comets by scores of 25-21, 25-13 and 25-20, and finished one game ahead of second-place Benton (10-2), and six games ahead of third-place Highland (5-7) and Shullsburg (5-7).

Thursday night’s loss dropped coach Michelle Becwar’s Comets to 4-8 in league play, sharing the fifth spot with Potosi, a game ahead of Belmont (3-9).

In Thursday night’s contest, River Ridge senior Bridgette Myers put down 18 kills, dished out 12 assist and had two blocks.

Fellow senior Amber Patterson added nine kills and a team-high five blocks, while freshman Taylor Langmeier distributed 15 total assists.

Coming up with 13 digs was senior Sydney Bloom, while fellow senior Sierra Schier had 11 to go along with four service aces.

“We were very excited with this win over Cassville, since Benton had two losses and our team had one going into this match, winning meant that we would be conference champs alone,” said coach Dianne Langmeier.

“Cassville girls really hustled and gave us a great game. We were down in one of the games by a couple of points, but we were able to come back and get the victory in three sets,” Langmeier added.

“I’d like to thank the seniors for their great leadership and dedication to our team. They are a great bunch of gals.”

Cassville senior Bailie Becwar led the Comets with five kills and seven assists, while fellow senior Andrea Okey added four kills, 13 digs and five assists.

Senior Payton Brinkman served up two service aces and had 10 digs, while Jenna Baliff and Madelyn Nix each had one block.

Both teams were also in action two nights earlier, when River Ridge picked up a 3-0 win over visiting Belmont, and Cassville was handed a 3-1 loss by host Benton.

For River Ridge, Myers led the team to victory with 12 kills, six service aces, five digs, six assists and one block.

Taylor Langmeier added six kills, 12 assists and one block to the win, while Bloom had 10 digs and Patterson two blocks.

That night was also “Pink Night,” where the girls raised over $300 for the Grant County Cancer Coalition.

In their loss to the Zephyrs, Cassville got seven kills, 12 digs, six aces and two blocks from Baliff, while Becwar added 16 assists, six kills, 10 digs and one ace.

Okey also added 20 digs and two assists, while Ni had 10 digs and Mahcoy Mumm two service aces.

For an outstanding regular season record of 19-1, the Timberwolves were awarded a No. 1 seed in their WIAA division 4 regional bracket, and hosted No. 8 seed Kickapoo this past Tuesday night. The winner will then move on to face either North Crawford or Highland this Thursday night.

The Comets were given a No. 5 seed in their regional bracket opposite of River Ridge, and traveled to Pecatonica this past Tuesday night. The winner of that match will most likely play top-seeded Southwestern (21-1) this Thursday night.

River Ridge 3, Belmont 0

(from Tuesday, Oct. 13)

Belmont   12 9 16

River Ridge 25 25 25

River Ridge leaders

Kills - Bridgette Myers 12, Taylor Langmeier 6. Digs - Sydney Bloom 10, Myers 5. Aces - Myers 6, Sierra Schier 3, Bloom 3. Assists - Langmeier 12, Myers 6. Blocks - Amber Patterson 2, Sam Steiger 1, Langmeier 1, Myers 1.

Benton 3, Cassville 1

(from Tuesday, Oct. 13)

Cassville 16 25 17 12

Benton 25 21 25 25

Cassville leaders

Kills - Jenna Baliff 7, Bailie Becwar 6, Andrea Okey 6. Digs - Okey 20, Baliff 12, Becwar 10, Madelyn Nix 10. Aces - Baliff 6, Mahcoy Mumm 2, Becwar 1. Assists - Becwar 16, Okey 2. Blocks - Baliff 2, Mumm 1, Nix 1.

River Ridge 3, Cassville 0

(from Thursday, Oct. 15)

Cassville 21 13 20

River Ridge 25 25 25

Cassville leaders

Kills - Bailie Becwar 5, Andrea Okey 4. Digs - Okey 13, Payton Brinkman 10. Aces - Brinkman 2, Christal Bean 1. Assists - Becwar 7, Okey 5. Blocks - Jenna Baliff 1, Madelyn Nix 1.

River Ridge leaders

Kills - Bridgette Myers 18, Amber Patterson 9. Digs - Sydney Bloom 13, Sierra Schier 11. Aces - Schier 4, Darion Brooks 3. Assists - Taylor Langmeier 15, Myers 12. Blocks - Patterson 5, Myers 2.