St. Thomas More’s volleyball dominance has been well-documented.
The Cougars have qualified for the state tournament every year since 2002, winning 11 state championships — the first in 2010, which was coach Jessica Burke’s first year at the helm.
Although it’s been business as usual for the top-seeded Cougars (37-5), Burke said this season feels different.
“We’re kind of flying under the radar this year,” said Burke, whose Cougars will face No. 9 South Lafourche in the Division II quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Thursday on Court 1 at the Cajundome. “We haven’t received a ton of attention. … It kind of takes the pressure off a little bit because there’s just not as much attention on our team.”
The Cougars, who have won five straight Division II state titles, are looking to extend their streak to six but know the most important thing is in the process.
“I think there’s definitely times where we talk about championship culture, or something like if we want to be champions, then we have to do these little things well,” Burke said. “But we don’t talk about it like, ‘We want to be the No. 1 seed. Or we want to make it to the state tournament or that we want to win the last game.’ We don’t talk about it like that, but we do definitely address the championship culture and the standards.”
Like the Cougars, Teurlings (28-10) has been a state tournament regular. Terry Hebert has led the Rebels to the state tourney in all of his 16 years as coach.
“We are extremely excited about playing in the state tournament,” said Hebert, whose No. 5 Rebels will face No. 4 Belle Chasse at 3 p.m. on Court 2. “It’s always nice to get back to the (Cajundome).”
While he wouldn’t say Teurlings is peaking now, Hebert said he’s been pleased with how they’ve competed.
“I would like to say yes, but we were playing a little bit better in late September, early October,” he said. “We have had a couple of injuries at some key positions in October that we’re still trying to work through.
“It’s not due to a lack of effort because the girls are working hard. We just had some untimely injuries. So now we’re just trying to get healthy again and develop the chemistry we had a few months ago.”
Hebert said there isn’t as much pressure to win a title as there has been in the past. Teurlings won eight straight state titles from 2013-20, but hasn’t won one since.
“I think when the championship streak ended, the pressure diminished,” he said. “The pressure is always there because people still associate us with success.”
Burke knows all about the pressure to keep title streaks going, but said STM doesn’t feel any additional burden this year.
“I feel like no one puts more pressure on me than me,” Burke said. “So I kind of operate under that as far as pressure on myself to make sure that I keep everybody accountable. The pressure for us to get to that last game is always there for me because I just want that for my team.
“I want that for my girls. People may not be paying as much attention to us this year, but I feel my standard for myself remains the same.”
If the Cougars and Rebels both win Thursday, they would meet in the semifinals on Friday with a trip to the title game.
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