Locals punch tickets to Pontchartrain Center

Local basketball coaches ready for the season
November 8, 2017
Locals punch tickets to prep football playoffs
November 8, 2017
Local basketball coaches ready for the season
November 8, 2017
Locals punch tickets to prep football playoffs
November 8, 2017

Get ready, Kenner.

The Houma-Thibodaux area is coming to your neck of the woods this week.


Four local teams advanced to the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner this week – the home of the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals for the Louisiana High School Athletic Association State Tournament.

We’re guaranteed to have at least one team make the semifinals, because two locals are going to be facing one another in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

DIVISION II

South Lafourche High School volleyball made history.


The No. 6 Lady Tarpons made it to the Pontchartrain Center for the first time in school history on Saturday in a thrilling, five-set win over No. 11 Belle Chasse – a game that folks down the bayou will be talking about for a long, long time.

The Lady Tarpons fell behind two sets to one and staved off several match points in a thrilling marathon fourth set, which South Lafourche eventually won 33-31.

In the fifth set, the Lady Tarpons imposed their will on the Lady Cardinals, jumping ahead early and never looking back, securing a 15-8 victory and the match.


South Lafourche has only been to the playoffs three times in school history – the past three-consecutive years.

The school earned its first playoff win last season, then topped that mark this season, getting a first-round bye and then the victory over the Lady Cardinals.

With the win, South Lafourche will take on No. 3 St. Scholastica in the quarterfinals.


They beat No. 19 Live Oak in the second round.

The winner of that match will face the winner of No. 2 Cabrini and No. 7 Ben Franklin.

“These hard working young ladies set a goal and reached it,” South Lafourche coach Jamie Lerille said. “Words can’t express how proud I am of this amazing team.”


Another local is still alive in the Division II bracket.

No. 5 South Terrebonne is also going to Kenner after scoring a comfortable four-set win over No. 12 Academy of Our Lady (25-12, 25-17, 25-27, 25-14) on Saturday afternoon in Bourg.

The Lady Gators got a monkey off their back in the win, because Academy of Our Lady had knocked South Terrebonne out of the playoffs in each of the past several seasons.


But this time, the Lady Gators had enough in the tank to get over the hump and move on to the next round.

With the win, South Terrebonne moves to the quarterfinals where they will take on an all-too familiar foe: No. 4 Assumption.

The Lady Mustangs are an annual contender and a regular at the Pontchartrain Center. This year, they earned their spot after beating No. 13 Lee Magnet on Saturday in straight sets (25-13, 25-9, 25-9).


The Lady Gators and Lady Mustangs have faced one another three times this season.

Assumption has the Lady Gators’ number, winning all three times.

The last time they played was a thriller – a five-set battle in Bourg, which Assumption won after earning the fifth set 15-10.


That match is set for Thursday at 4:20 p.m. on Court 3.

South Terrebonne coach Richard Sasser said he expects nothing more than another thriller between the two teams, touting that when you know an opponent that well, there will be no tricks or secrets on the floor.

“Whoever plays the best will win,” he said.


South Lafourche’s game will be played Thursday at 6:10 p.m. on Court 2.

DIVISION III

In Division III, there will be one local team in the State Semifinals – guaranteed.

That’s because two local teams are playing one another in the quarterfinals – No. 1 Vandebilt and No. 8 E.D. White.


The Lady Terriers have been a wrecking ball all season after losing late in the playoffs last year.

Last week, they crushed No. 16 Crowley in straight sets, losing just 22 points in the entire match (25-10, 25-7, 25-5).

That fierce competitiveness is something that Vandebilt has challenged itself to have all season. Before the season started in August, coach Greg Castillo didn’t shy away from giving lofty goals to his team.


Vandebilt made it to the State Semifinals last season, but lost to Ursuline Academy in straight sets.

“We have a clear goal – we want to win the state championship,” Castillo said before the season. “For us, nothing else will equal to getting to that stage again and getting over it and past it.”

Now, the Lady Terriers are back and are three wins away from making that wish a reality.


For E.D. White, the path to Kenner was tougher. They had a far stiffer challenge in the second round, scoring a four-set victory over No. 9 Morgan City.

The Lady Cardinals lost the first set of the match 23-25, but then rattled off three-straight to punch their ticket to the Pontchartrain Center.

Of course, Vandebilt and E.D. White are big-time rivals and the two programs are awfully familiar with one other.


The teams’ faced off three times this season with Vandebilt scoring victories in all three matches. E.D. White has challenged Vandebilt, despite the losses, though.

In their last meeting, E.D. White won the second set and scored 20 or more points in three of the four sets played.

Sierra Lerille


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