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The Daily Review/Mico Aloisio
Central Catholic players, including Madison Landry, Bri’Yannah Johnson, Katie Luc and Haley Fontenot, celebrate during their semifinal contest against McGehee.

Central Catholic falls in state volleyball semis

KENNER — A day after a five-set thriller in the Division V quarterfinals, the Central Catholic Lady Eagles struggled on offense and defensively against a big McGehee attack in a straight set loss Friday in the Division V semifinals at the Pontchartrain Center.
The Lady Eagles fell by scores of 25-20, 25-12 and 25-23.
Central Catholic coach Kindra Solar said after the game things just didn’t feel right prior to her team’s Division V semifinal contest against McGehee Friday.
“Honestly, pregame vibes weren’t like yesterday,” Solar said Friday. “It just felt different.”
In addition to an off game, the Lady Eagles (15-10) had to contend with McGehee standout Jordan Felix.
“She’s an amazing player,” Solar said. “She never faltered really. She always found the hole. She kept swinging. Our defense couldn’t stop her, and we have a pretty good defense. It’s one of the best defenses I’ve had as a coach.”
When the Lady Eagles had opportunities, they couldn’t take advantage on offense, Solar said.
No. 11 McGehee advanced to Saturday’s final where it fell in straight sets to top-ranked Metairie Park Country Day.
In Central Catholic’s semifinal game, the Lady Eagles never led in the first two sets and tied the game just once in the first two sets.
After tying the game at 3 in the first set, the closest the Lady Eagles got the remainder of the way was a 7-6 deficit on a Haley Fontenot kill.
Central Catholic trailed as much as seven points in the set but cut its deficit to as little as two multiple times, the last at 18-16 on a McGehee hitting error. But the Hawks (13-6) outscored the Lady Eagles 7-4 the rest of the way for the victory.
In the second set, McGehee’s largest lead was the final score as the Hawks won the match 25-12.
Central Catholic kept things much closer throughout in game three as the Lady Eagles took their first lead on the game’s first point on a McGehee hitting error.
While the Lady Eagles led 8-7 after a kill by Gweneth Dohmann, a kill by McGehee tied the game at 8 and the Hawks took the lead one point later on a Central Catholic hitting error.
Central Catholic kept things close late in the match and tied it at 22 on an Emily Lipari ace and again at 23 on a McGehee hitting error.
However, the Hawks scored the game’s next two points to win the match.
Despite the loss, the Lady Eagles advanced to the semifinals with only three players on their 20-member squad having played consistently in the Pontchartrain Center a year ago. A fourth member, Fontenot, returned to the team this year after playing in the state tournament as a freshman but not playing the previous two years.
“We’re losing some good senior leadership and just good spirit,” Solar said of seniors Fontenot, Katie Luc, Rylie Theriot and Kennedy Grizzaffi. “Those four leaving us will hurt, but we do have a great, great, great group of kids that’s coming back, and then the junior high program is strong as well. So we’re going to expect some good freshmen coming in. I call us the underdogs because of our losing streak at the beginning (of the season), and then here we are Friday (in the semifinals).”

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