Washington kept close with an undefeated neighboring foe in Riverside in a 25-21 loss in the first set of Tuesday’s match. Strong hitting coupled with service streaks let the visiting Lady Knights build leads in the second and third sets, though, in a 3-0 sweep of the Lady Pack.

The varsity squad rolled into the match with momentum from the 2-0 sweep earned by the junior-varsity group. The energy subsided a bit after Riverside escaped the first set with the win, and the Lady Pack went on to drop the second, 25-10.

“They were feeding off of the JV,” Washington coach Kendall Hihn said. “… They were prepared. They were going in, ‘JV won, we’re going to win, same thing.’ And then, second game, Riverside got a good lead, they got down on themselves, and it kind of went down from there.”

Riverside coach Herbie Rogers added, “Washington played a really good first set. They did a lot of good things. You’ve got to give credit to them.”

The home side came out strong in the third set. Sophomore Elisa Wilkins continued her impressive start to the season with a serving ace for the first point. The set remained close through the midpoint. Wilkins notched a kill placed just inside the line on the far side, cutting Riverside’s lead to 12-10.

The Lady Knights rattled off another run serving the ball, extending their lead to 17-10. Sydney Keech’s kill following a Lady Pack timeout brought her side within five, 19-14. Mackenzie Seiler had an ace to keep the set and match within arm’s reach, 22-17, but Riverside was able to finish the sweep.

“(Tuesday) was one of the best serving days we’ve had. We were able to serve the ball where we needed to,” Rogers said. “We were able to keep them off offense and run our offense.”

Washington was coming off of a 3-0 win over Southside that completed the season sweep of the Lady Seahawks. The Lady Pack travels out to West Carteret on Wednesday, marking the end of a streak of six games in eight days. However, it will still be a little while before Washington gets time for significant practice.

“They’re tired, but we still did things that we haven’t been doing,” Hihn said. “That hurt us. … Thursday and Friday, we’re doing combination practice with JV because Thursday is open house. So, Monday will actually be the first day that each team gets the gym to themselves.”

After Wednesday’s trip to West Carteret, the Lady Pack hosts the Lady Patriots on Tuesday for the conclusion of their home-and-home series.