MCHS falls to E.D. White in four games

Two talented, well-coached teams met in a Division III second-round playoff match, but No. 8 E.D. White Catholic had just a little bit more than No. 9 Morgan City, taking a 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22) win Thursday in a postseason battle between District 8-III rivals.
Nerves were apparent in the first game when Morgan City’s first serve went into the net, and E.D. White’s first serve hit behind the end line.
Both teams settled down after that, largely trading points. E.D. White led 7-5 when Morgan City broke off the longest run of the match with six points for an 11-7 lead.
The Lady Cardinals slowly rallied, taking a 17-15 lead, but a five-point Lady Tiger run made it 21-17.
Again, E.D. White (19-20) came back, tying the game at 21 on Lila Bordis’ kill. The game was tied at 23 when a Lady Cardinal kill attempt went long, and Morgan City (21-16) concluded the game for a 25-23 win.
Game two started much as the first, with neither team holding more than a two-point lead until Rebecca Bollinger, who finished the match with 13 kills, knocked one down, putting the Lady Cardinals up 12-9.
E.D. White went up 16-11 on a three-point run thanks to three Morgan City errors. The Lady Tigers closed to 17-15, but the Lady Cardinals scored seven of the last 10 points for a 25-18 win.
The third game followed the same pattern as the second. Morgan City went up 10-6. E.D. White pulled ahead at 12-11 with two three-point runs.
The Lady Tigers tied it at 15, but again, the Lady Cardinals started to pull away from that point, running the score to 21-17 thanks to two Bordis aces. The Lady Tigers could not close, and E.D. White took the game 25-20.
“I told our girls after that we lost first game that we had to step it up and step it up big,” E.D. White Coach Sarah Johnson said. “Our big hitter (Bordis) wasn’t as on as she usually is, but I told everyone else they had to step it up, and everyone else stepped it up and did what they were supposed to do. They played a good game against a very good team.”
Bordis finished the match with 13 kills and 15 digs.
Game 4 was almost a replay of set one. Morgan City scored the first three points, E.D. White scored the second three, and from that point, neither team held more than a two-point lead until a double-contact call gave the Lady Cardinals a 17-14 lead.
Morgan City tied it at 21 and 22, but a Bordis kill and a block from Khole Trosclair gave the Lady Cardinals the 25-22 win.
“After the first set, I think our girls started playing more not to lose than to win,” Christy Theriot, Morgan City coach said.
Isabel Soignet had 17 digs for E.D. White, while Caroline Gros had 15 assists.
Kennedy Hebert, a Nicholls State softball commit, had 14 kills, one ace, seven digs, and five blocks for Morgan City.
Other top Morgan City contributors were Sh’Diamond Holly, 10 kills and four solo blocks; Jolee Nini, one kill, 26 assists and 10 digs; Allie Vincent, one ace and nine digs; Haylie Crappell, four kills, one assist and seven digs; and McKenzi Smith, one kill and 10 digs.
As a team, Morgan City had nine solo blocks in the win.
Thursday’s win was E.D. White’s third of the season against Morgan City. The Lady Cardinals posted wins of 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-14) on Oct. 10 and 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-16) on Oct. 19.
With the win, E.D. White will face Division I top seed and District 8-III rival Vandebilt Catholic Nov. 9 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pitre is a Sports Correspondent for The Houma Courier. Additional reporting by Review Sports Editor Geoff Stoute.