Archbishop Hannan beats Morgan City High in volleyball quarterfinals

LAFAYETTE -- Morgan City High, which rode a sophomore-heavy lineup to a place among the top eight Division III volleyball teams in the state, fell to top-seeded Archbishop Hannan 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-7) in Thursday's quarterfinal matchup at the Cajundome.

Ninth-seeded Morgan City finishes its season with a 20-19 record.

Top-seeded Archbishop Hannan came into the match with a 35-6 record and a lineup that features 6-foot-6 Rylee Morris. She led the team in kills with 12 and blocks with three.

Morris was most effective with dinks. Her teammates brought the power, led by Carleigh Breaux with 10 kills.

Hannan's serves were also a strength. Sofie Bonnafer and Avery Boudreaux each had four aces,

"They had a few more weapons," Morgan City coach Christy Theriot said.

Morgan City had a few weapons of its own. One of the sophomores, Sarah Daniels, led the team with 12 kills and 22 blocks. Madison Gray posted 12 assists. .Brooke LeBoueuf had one ace, five assists and 12 digs;

Morgan City stayed in the first two games until Hannan began to pull away as it neared 20 points. It wasn't until the third game that Morgan City's frustration began to show up its in play.

Still, "I'm proud of them for getting here," Theriot said, "because for a while there it didn't look like we would get here."

After finishing the regular season with a 1-5 district record, Morgan City beat Lusher Charter 3-0 in the playoff opener and then upset No. 8 St. Louis Catholic 3-1 on the road to earn its place in the quarterfinal.

Also among the leaders Thursday for Morgan City were Arion Calloway with five kills; Mariah Pleasant with one block; Olivia Baio with five assists; Gray with eight digs; and Kamryn Olivier with seven digs.

For Hannan, Claire Buisson had 10 digs.

Central Catholic, seeded sixth in Division V, is scheduled to play its quarterfinal match against No. 3 Episcopal of Acadiana at 6:10 p.m. Thursday, also at the Cajundome.