It took a while for St. Thomas More to get going.
Maybe even longer than they expected.
But once the Cougars got rolling in their quarterfinals match Thursday, there was no stopping them.
Behind some big time kills and relentless defense, the Cougars defeated the South Lafourche Tarpons in four sets 15-25, 25-19, 25-15 and 25-7 at the Cajundome.
“I think it’s just a little bit of the Cajundome nerves,” said Cougars head coach Jessica Burke when discussing why they got off to a slow start early in the match. “As you get here, just kind of the lights and the crowd and it’s really loud. The court next to us was very loud and we’re a very communicative team. Once it got a little quieter in there, we were able to settle in a little bit then we were able to play our game.”
The victory was Burke’s 600th of her career.
“That makes me feel very old,” Burke said with a laugh. “I mean 600 wins that’s amazing. I’ve had such great teams over the past 17 seasons. I’ve just been very blessed.”
The Cougars’ top performers in the win were Morgan Dunn, Clare Thomson, Mallory Franklin, Madeline Blanchard (20 digs) and Lauren Froehlich (6 blocks).
Dunn had a team-high 17 kills, Thomson recorded 36 assists, 22 digs and two aces, and Franklin finished with 13 kills and four blocks.
“It was a lot about our control,” Burke said. “… You have to expect that a team is going to come in and fight, especially when the pressure’s all on us. So, just to take control of the game ourselves instead of sitting back and watching to see what they were doing.”
With the win, the Cougars, who are hoping to win their sixth consecutive Division II state championship, will face crosstown rival Teurlings Catholic at 1:40 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.
It’s a match Burke and the Cougars are excited about.
“Our district is representing, so I’m proud of us,” Burke said. “To both make it to the semifinals, I’m excited. It should be a great game and hopefully everybody comes out to support both teams.”
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