CCHS cruises past Chris Episcopal; Patterson falls to St. Thomas Aquinas

The Central Catholic Lady Eagles cruised past Christ Episcopal in Division V first-round action with a 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-12) victory in Morgan City Tuesday.
No. 3 Central Catholic, which is led by a veteran squad, never trailed throughout the three-set match against No. 30 Christ Episcopal. The Wildcats are in their second year as a member of the Louisiana High S c h o o l A t h l e t i c
Association, and they were making their first volleyball playoff appearance.
“It was a good win for us. We came out pretty strong,” Central Catholic Coach Latashia Wise said, noting the Lady Eagles have been off about a week. “It’s a good way for us to try to get back in a groove before our next playoff game.”
In game 1, 2-1 was the closest the score ever was before Central Catholic (34-8) reeled off points in chunks, including a 12-0 run to make an 11-3 advantage a 24-3 lead. Central Catholic’s Bailey Lipari recorded eight aces during the run, including six straight.
Central Catholic closed the set with a kill by Katie Hoffpauir for a 25-6 win.
In game two, Central Catholic used strong serving and its front-row attack to take the set. Symone Wiggins’ ace closed the set for a 25-6 win.
In game three, Christ Episcopal (8-19) had its lone tie of the game at 1 on a kill by Elizabeth Cervalo.
While Central Catholic dominated much of the set, taking a 13-point lead on two occasions, the last at 22-9 on a hitting error by Christ Episcopal, Christ Episcopal did double its scoring output in the third game from its point totals in the first
two games.
The Lady Eagles closed the set and clinched the match with a kill by Ava Nicar.
“This is an awesome experience to get out of this,” Christ Episcopal Coach Samantha Nestell said of the playoffs. “We’re so young. We have a lot of eighth and ninth graders on this team, so I’m hoping in a couple years down the road this
will pay off.”
Caroline Green, Yani Johnson and Katie Hoffpauir led Central Catholic. Green had 10 kills and one block; Johnson recorded eight kills, two digs, two blocks and three aces; and Hoffpauir totaled 34 assists and three kills. Other top Central
Catholic contributors were Lipari, eight aces, three digs and five kills; Nicar, eight kills and three digs; Emma Simmons, five digs and four aces; and Brooke Lipari, seven digs.
No Chris Episcopal stats were available.
Central Catholic will play the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 14 Crescent City and No. 19 St. Katharine Drexel in the regional round.
Patterson falls in 1st round
T h e P a t t e r s o n Lumberjills fell to St. Thomas Aquinas 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-19) in Hammond Tuesday in Division IV Bi-District playoff action.
“We gave it our best shot,” Patterson Coach Chasity Toups said. “I told the girls to play with no regrets, and I believe they did just that. We had calls against us that we haven’t had all year, but that’s to be expected playing on the road.”
Briyanna Butler and Gabby Marcel led Patterson, Division IV’s No. 18 seed. Butler had 12 kills, three digs and two blocks, while Marcel recorded one ace, seven kills, 12 digs and three blocks. Other top contributors for Patterson (14-8)
were Kara Lawrence, one ace, seven kills and three digs; Deja Dugar, one ace, eight digs and eight assists; Emma Marin, one ace, one kill, four digs and eight assists; Katelyn Larson, three aces, two kills and eight digs; and Alayah Williams, eight digs.
Patterson will say goodbye to three senior players, Kara Lawrence, Katelyn Larson and Alayah Williams.
“I’ll miss my seniors more than they’ll ever know,” Toups said. “They are a great group of girls, and will do exceptional things with their lives. I’m very proud of who they are and excited to see what they’ll do with their future.”
St. Thomas Aquinas (20-14), Division IV’s No. 15 seed, now advances to the regional round where it will meet the winner of No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 31 M.L. King Charter.