St. Albert ended its string of postseason anguish Wednesday night by sweeping Riverside 25-17, 25-20, 25-18 in Class 2A Region 2 volleyball action at the St. Albert gymnasium.

The win is the first postseason victory for the Saintes since 2002, when the current group of seniors were freshman and the team advanced to the Class 1A regional semifinal against Farragut.

"It feels really good to get out of the first round," St. Albert senior Aileen Mooney, who finished with nine kills, said. "We've had this on our mind the whole season."

St. Albert returns to action Tuesday in a 7 p.m. contest against Griswold at Griswold. The Tigers topped Audubon 25-19, 25-16, 25-21.

Riverside entered the game 13-13 and had been playing well of late. The Bulldogs had a strong showing in last week's Western Iowa Conference Tournament including an upset over No. 2 seed Tri-Center.

"They have been playing very well," St. Albert coach Angie Lantz said.

The Saintes grabbed leads in each of the three games. Games one and three saw Riverside mount a comeback, but in neither game were the Bulldogs able to close the gap.

"It's a roller-coaster game," Lantz said. "I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out."

Mooney paced St. Albert with nine kills, while Krista Kennebeck added eight. Libero Meghan Crowley paced the team with nine digs, while Gina Assmann had 13 assists and Natalie Andrews added a dozen for the Saintes.

"It was a very good team effort," said Lantz, who said it was important to get the sweep with nearly a week before the next round.

"Winning in three is a big momentum builder for the next game of districts," she said. "It just keeps everybody's spirits up."

Riverside 17 20 18

St. Albert 25 25 25

St. Albert: Serving: Gina Assmann 7-9 (1 ace), Aileen Mooney 9-11 (2), Caitlin Cool 12-16, Natalie Andrews 11-12 (2), Krista Kennebeck 10-11, Kelsey Corzine 15-15 (3). Assists: Assmann 13, Andrews 12, Jordan McBride 1. Hitting: Ali Gorman 7-7 (3), Mooney 11-14 (9), Kennebeck 19-21 (8), Kelsey Corzine 8-10 (4), McBride 7-7 (2), Becca Gradoville 7-8 (4). Digs: Assmann 4, Mooney 1, Corzine 3, Kennebeck 2, Meghan Crowley 9, Cool 5, Andrews 3, Gradoville 1. Blocks: Mooney 2.

Records: St. Albert (15-16), Riverside (13-14).