LAFAYETTE – Day 1 of the LHSAA state volleyball tournament began on Thursday with lots of action involving area teams at the Cajundome.
The following is a recap of the midday matches involving the area schools.
Division IV
DUNHAM 3, HOUMA CHRISTIAN 0: The Tigers dominated the first set 25-5. The Warriors trailed 18-7 in the second set, before fighting back to trim the deficit to 20-17.
No. 2 Dunham closed out the second set with five straight points to take it 25-17. The Tigers (31-6) closed out No. 10 Houma Christian in the third set in dominant fashion, 25-8.
“I thought we served really aggressively all three sets,” coach Meagan Herrington said. “We came in knowing exactly what to do.”
Kennedi Owens, Katherine McDonald and Bree Mills were Dunham’s top performers. Owens led the team in kills with eight. She added nine digs. McDonald led the Tigers in aces (5), assists (24) and was second in blocks (7). Mills finished with seven kills and seven blocks.
Dunham will face No. 11 John Curtis in the semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday.
“We’re going to remember our job stays the same no matter who the opponent is,” Herrington said. “We don’t want the moment to become too big. We have a lot of tools in our tool kit about how to shrink the moment and stay us.”
Division III
U-HIGH 3, BERWICK 0: The top-seed Cubs (27-3) led 14-8 in the first set before a 5-2 run helped them stretch the advantage to 19-10. U-High held on to take the first set 25-13.
In the second set, Berwick kept it close early. The Panthers trailed just 8-7 before U-High ripped off a 4-0 run to take a five-point lead. The Cubs outscored Berwick 13-6 the rest of the way to take a 2-0 lead after winning the second set, 25-13. The Cubs rolled to a 25-9 win in the third set.
“They came out a little shaky,” U-High coach Bonita Johnson said. “They pulled it all together. Got more confident and played a better game.”
Johnson credited her team’s ability to play good defense to leading to success.
Monet Temple led the team in kills with 14. Olivia Jefferson and Hailey Hurst each totaled seven kills. Grace Kiffin added 18 assists.
“Two years, we were in one game, and out the next,” Johnson said. “This team, they didn’t want that to happen again.”
The Cubs will face No. 4 Haynes in the Division III semifinals at 11:50 a.m. Friday.
HANNAN 3, PARKVIEW BAPTIST 1: No. 7 Parkview Baptist battled with No. 2 Hannan in the first set, winning 25-22. Neither team could find separation in the second set, which included 12 ties. Hannan evened the match after scoring two straight points to win the second set 27-25.
Hannan led for much of the third and fourth sets. The Hawks won the third set 25-18 and took the fourth set 25-13 to win the match. The Eagles’ season ends at 19-18.
Parkview’s Marin Price finished with 24 kills.
IOTA 3, LUTCHER 2: No. 6 Lutcher took the first two sets, 25-23, 25-22 against No. 3 Iota.
In the second set, Iota built a 6-0 lead before Lutcher rallied to win it.
Iota won the third set, 25-18, to force a fourth set. Iota evened the match after holding on to take a long fourth set, 27-25. Lutcher fell behind 8-1 in the fifth set and failed to mount a comeback. Lutcher got as close as four points before Iota completed the comeback 15-7 and eliminate Lutcher. The Bulldogs’ season ends at 22-17.
Neely Ruiz totaled 10 kills for Lutcher. Sarah Jones had eight kills. Reece Clement had five aces in the loss.
Division II
ST. MICHAEL 3, ST. SCHOLASITA 0: The No. 6 Warriors (24-16) were no strangers to comebacks against No. 3 St. Scholastica. St. Michael trailed 10-6 early, but came back to take the first set 25-22.
In the second set, the Doves raced out to a lead and were just two points from tying the match, up 23-14. The Warriors then stormed back, mounting an 11-1 run to tie it at 24 points apiece. Skylar Towner played a big role in the comeback with four kills. Towner had consecutive kills to help St. Michael win the set 27-25.
The Warriors trailed 6-2 early in the third set before flipping the script on a 7-1 run. St. Michael stretched its lead to 20-13 before the Doves cut the deficit to four points. St. Michael stopped the comeback attempt, winning 25-17 to complete a 3-0 sweep. Towner finished with 15 kills. Aliza Gary had 11.
“That’s been a story of our life all season,” St. Michael coach Latashia Wise-Jackson said. “We get to 15, we stop playing. We let them get to 15; we start playing. They had the preparation. They just have to finish now.”
St. Michael will face No. 10 Academy of Our Lady at 1:40 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.
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