Division I Quarterfinals
A quick glance of the LHSAA Volleyball Playoff Bracket in Division I is all it takes to realize that there are storylines galore.
Out of the eight teams remaining the public schools outnumber the private schools 5-3 with Slidell and Hahnville leading the charge to become the first public school to win a state championship in 13 years (Fontainebleau was the last to do so in 2011, ironically coached by Slidell’s current coach Danny Tullis).
The 4-time defending state champion is playing a team whose coach coached Dominican’s coach.
And will Mt. Carmel’s all-or-nothing theme to the season lead the Cubs to their first state title since they won their sixth straight championship back in 2019?
You will have to stay up late to see how it unfolds as three of the four Division I Quarterfinal matches are scheduled to begin at 8:00pm Thursday at the Cajundome in Lafayette. We begin our look at the matchups with the lone game starting early.
No.1 Slidell vs No.9 Southside Thursday 12:40pm
The first year the state tournament moved from the Ponchartrain Center in Kenner to the Cajundome in Lafayette in 2021 the shift in fan support was on display from the very first round of games. In the Division I Quarterfinals Southside knocked off Dutchtown in front of a raucous crowd. Expect more of the same from the Sharks student body who will be out in force to support their underdogs against the No.1 seed in Division I.
Slidell has flourished in year two of the Danny Tullis Era. The legendary coach has his team believing they can reach the top of the mountain in Division I. A healthy Reagan Robinson, who sat out the Tigers last two regular season games with an ankle injury will help.
Southside will continue to be led by coach Nick Hunt who has filled in for Julie Dawson during her medical leave.
Coach’s Comments:
Slidell
“We are excited to move into the Cajundome. I feel the best way to move forward into the playoffs is to forget the seeds and try and focus on playing your best volleyball regardless of your opponent. I’m looking at Southside as if they are the 1 seed and we are the underdog. Southside is a solid team with good ball control. I saw them very early and I’m sure they have improved a ton since then. We have to take care of the first contact and also keep our errors down. If we control serve and serve receive while not scoring for our opponent we should be in good shape.” Danny Tullis
Southside
“It is a goal for our team every year to make it to the”DOME “. We are lucky and blessed to have the opportunity to compete in front of our family and friends here in Lafayette. This is only our 6th season competing in LHSAA at the varsity level. This team is continuing to build winning traditions here at Southside. I am proud of the hard work and dedication from the girls and coaching staff.” Julie Dawson
Stats Leaders:
Slidell
Reagan Robinson 208 kills/436 digs
Ava Labat 1,170 assists
Ava Barduca 358 kills/81 blocks
Demoni Lewis 275 kills/297 digs
Addy Dowell 211 kills
Southside
Zsofia Pekar 367 kills/292 digs
Joli Nelson 889 assists
Kay’len Alexander 190 kills/57 blocks
Emmy Habetz 495 digs
No.4 Hahnville at No.12 Northshore Thursday 8:00pm
Not one player on Hahnville’s roster was born the last time the Tigers made the State Quarterfinals in 2005. Head Coach Mendi LeBoeuf has been at Hahnville for 31 years and her talented squad has the firepower to go all the way.
NEVER count out Danny Davis and Northshore. The lowest seed remaining in the tournament knocked off No.6 Fontainebleau in the Regionals to earn another trip to the State Tournament after missing out last season, but is just two years removed from making the semifinals.
The two teams met twice at the Newman Tournament in mid-October with Hahnville winning both the pool play match and the 3rd place match in straight sets.
Coach’s Comments:
Hahnville
“I am so excited for our team. They have worked very hard to attain the goal of getting back to the State Tournament. They are a great representation of our program, our school, and community. I am thankful to get to spend more time competing with them.
Northshore is a very good team. We know that they pose many challenges and we are looking forward to preparing for them early this week. It’s hard to beat any team 3 times, but we are looking forward to the challenge. Our players are focused and have show a lot of resiliency through out the season. I think it is going to be a great match.” Mendi LeBoeuf
Northshore:
“The key to beating Fontainebleau was our first ball contact. Our defense was very disciplined Saturday and needed to be for us to be successful (88 total digs between 3 players).Thoughts on Hahnville: I told (Hahnville) that our match got moved to Friday so they would miss our scheduled match on Thursday, LOL. They will be tough…they are a well-rounded team and we will need to play our best to have an opportunity to advance. It should be a good match.” Danny Davis
Stats Leaders:
Hahnville
Mariah Mott 443 kills
Maci Hollingsworth 318 kills
Ebby Zeringue 1,017 assists
Kylie Spurgeon 483 digs
Northshore (From their Regionals win vs Fontainebleau)
Kills:
Kalyssa Tolis: 14
Emily Martin: 13
Grace Chawki: 12
Laynie Guilbeau: 10
Assists:
Emily Martin: 38
Digs:
Gracie Schaff: 42
Kalyssa Tolis: 25
Laynie Guilbeau: 21
No.3 Mt. Carmel vs No.6 Dutchtown Thursday 8:00pm
A rematch of last season’s Division I Semifinals that saw MCA sweep the Griffins who had just got over their 4-year hump of the quarterfinals in a 5-set thriller to wrap up the first day of action in 2023.
After finishing as the Division I State Runner-Up the past two seasons, Taylor Ricaud’s senior-heavy team has gone with the “State Championship or bust” mantra all season. The Cubs come into the State Tournament winners of 11 of their last 12 including a district championship at Dominican and commanding playoff wins over Chalmette and Barbe.
Dutchtown is led by a pair of Division I college commits in Cadie Kusy (Southeastern Beach) and Ania Anderson (UNO indoor) and has won 11 of their last 13 including playoff wins over Mandeville and Denham Springs.
Coach’s Comments:
Mt. Carmel
“We feel so much pride as a program to make it back to the state quarterfinals. We are focusing on playing our best volleyball. One point at a time. And leaving everything we have on the court.” Taylor Ricaud
Dutchtown
“We are excited about making it back to the state tournament this year. The team has worked hard since the summer, and I feel we are peaking at the right time. All players in the rotation are making meaningful contributions.
Mt. Carmel will be a huge test for us. They have a very solid and versatile team. In order for us to take that next step we have to compete with and eventually beat programs like this. We have the utmost respect for them, but are looking forward to this challenge.” Patrick Ricks
Stat Leaders:
Mt. Carmel
Emily Caracci 403 kills/.398 hitting pct/78 blocks
Emma Richey 1,280 assists
Ali Offner 553 digs
Lila Franovich 332 kills
Giselle Estrada 256 kills
Julia Savois 214 kills
Mia Lopez 444 digs
Olivia Meyer 439 digs
Dutchtown:
Cadie Kusy 478 kills, 482 digs, 51 aces
Ania Anderson 432 kills, 364 digs, 78 aces
Olivia Songy 597 assists
Kinsley Phillips 518 assists
No.2 Dominican vs No.10 Chapelle Thursday 8:00pm
Intriguing quarterfinal matchup pitting the 4-time defending state champs coached by Jessica Chatellier going up against a Chapelle team coached by Chatellier’s former coach Jodee Pulizzano who is in her first season at the helm of the Chipmunks and relatively fresh off career win No.1,000.
An amazing coaching job this season by Chatellier who lost most of her firepower on offense to graduation but has remained near the top of Division I all season.
The Hall-of-Famer Pulizzano has also done great work in year one at Chapelle where a pair of sophomores Victoria McCann and Audrey Dubuc have led the offense and a junior libero Ava “Mouse” Landry has locked down the defense.
The two teams met on October 10 with Dominican winning 3-0.
Coach’s Comments:
Dominican
“We are excited to be headed back to the Cajundome. To face Jodee and Chapelle in the quarterfinals is a full circle moment. Jodee is a mentor of mine and in fact I started my coaching career with her. To have her on the opposing side for a playoff game is definitely something new. She is doing great things at Chapelle and has just made our district that much stronger. We are looking forward to taking this journey one step at a time!” Jessica Chatellier
Chapelle
“I’m excited to be back in the Cajundome. Chapelle is a great institution and I’m blessed to be a part of it. As I have stated many times I’m not worried about anyone on the other side of the net. I am just worried about us and our play. Making state is the goal of any team. Only 8 teams left. Hay is in the barn.
Regarding Jess I have coached her, coached with her, now coach against her PERIOD.” Jodee Pulizzano
Stats:
Dominican
Lauren Pipitone 851 digs
Zoie Mitchell 339 kills/67 blocks
Mihley Clayton 281 kills/77 blocks
Rani Smith 206 kills
Molly Baker 638 assists
Rachel Zamjahn 610 assists
Chapelle
Victoria McCann 443 kills/59 blocks
Audrey Dubuc 294 kills
Ava “Mouse” Landry 816 digs, 66 aces
Brianna Fonseca 458 digs
Blythe Bonnaffons 815 assists