Area volleyball teams eye playoff pushes

The Houma-Thibodaux area is absolutely loaded with athletic talent.

This is no secret. Our sports pages are filled with stories of the successes of our student-athletes each and every week of the year.

But one area that we, admittedly, sometimes undersell, is the sport of high school volleyball.

In those gymnasiums around the area, some of the biggest and best teams in the state prowl — all hungry for a chance to make it to the Pontchartrain Center and then win a State Championship.

The Houma-Thibodaux area may be football country on Friday nights, sure. But every other day of the week, we’re a volleyball town with several teams favored to make deep postseason pushes.

Coaches say the talent in the area is amazing. They say the success of the local teams is a testament to elite coaching, high-end talent and several budding summer programs that have student-athletes playing year-round now — something that wasn’t always the case many years ago.

“The sport, it’s just grown so much,” H.L. Bourgeois volleyball coach Peter Verret said at the Preseason TGMC Media Day. “I’m sort of the old-school. Myself and Coach Didier and Coach Fussell and all of the wonderful coaches of a lot of my time at H.L.B are gone and I’m one of the last ones left. But now, we have so many of these new coaches and they’re so active in learning and they’re doing things the right way and building programs. And the kids are playing for school and then throughout the year. It’s just amazing to see. Our area is so successful at volleyball — top-to-bottom. And it’s just great to see.”

DIVISION I

In Division I, the Lady Braves are in unchartered territory — they’re fighting to make the playoffs.

Long a state powerhouse under Verret, the Lady Braves are unquestionably one of the most successful programs in the Houma-Thibodaux area over the past several years.

But Verret said at Media Day that this year’s team is young and void of experience.

At press-time, that youth was showing through. The team is 10-9 on the season and has struggled to take care of business against some of the top teams on their schedule.

“We’ve not been this young in a long time,” Verret said. “They’re great kids. We just have to grow with them.”

The Lady Braves lost to Hahnville in 5 sets last Tuesday with the last set falling 15-13. That would have been a huge win for H.L. Bourgeois, as Hahnville is currently No. 6 in the state in Division I.

The Lady Braves currently sit at No. 34. They’ll need to pick up some wins in the final weeks of the season to sneak into the playoffs.

Further down in the rankings in Division I is Thibodaux, which sits at No. 37 with a 2-8 record and Central Lafourche, which is No. 41.

DIVISION II

In Division I, locals are somewhat struggling. But in Division II, they’re calling the shots. There are four local teams in the Top 12 of the power rankings in Division II and all of those teams will have a strong shot to reach the Pontchartrain Center for the State Quarterfinals.

The lead dogs right now in the rankings are South Lafourche. The Lady Tarpons sit at No. 5 after rolling to an unblemished record early in district play.

The Lady Tarpons are loaded with talented outside hitters, polished setters and gifted back-line players who can turn defense into offense in a hurry.

But their competition is fierce, too.

South Terrebonne sits at No. 7. The Lady Gators have lost 4 of their past 5 matches at press-time, but they’ve beaten University Lab (twice), Destrehan, Houma Christian and Berwick, among others.

First-year coach Kristi Duplantis said her team is scrappy and finds ways to get the job done.

“The girls compete,” Duplantis said at TGMC Media Day. “They have great chemistry and they’re scrappy. You know they’re going to give you everything they’ve got.”

Also in the Top 12 in Division II are Assumption (No. 11) and Terrebonne (No. 12).

Terrebonne coach Craig Hamner said the Lady Tigers are young and will be a threat for the next several years.

Ellender sits outside of the Top 32 at press-time.

DIVISION III

In Division III, two local teams are going to heavily challenge for the State Championship, including one team that is defending its crown.

E.D. White is currently No. 3 in the state after a monstrous start to the season, which has included victories over all the local powers, including South Lafourche, South Terrebonne, Assumption and Terrebonne.

The Lady Cardinals were youthful last year, but are experienced now. That experienced is shining through into their play and they’ll be a force to be reckoned with throughout the rest of the season.

The same can be said for Vandebilt Catholic — the defending champions in the classification.

The Lady Terriers had a big senior group last year under coach Greg Castillo and the team is youthful, but still incredibly gifted this fall.

Castillo said during the preseason that he knew this year’s team was capable, adding some of those players just had never been given the chance to shine at the varsity level.

“Last year was a great experience for us. We had a wonderful team and a lot of those players, of course, are no longer with us,” Castillo said. “But the players are still very talented and are still capable of playing at a high level. We look forward to showing that throughout the season.”

DIVISION V

In Division V, Houma Christian is the lead dog locally with a No. 17 ranking in the latest power ranking projections. The Christian Warriors are dynamic and athletic — more than capable of playing at a high level in high-stakes matches.

Also in Division V is CCA, which sits outside of the Top 32 at press-time with a No. 33 ranking.

Volleyball playoffsCASEY GISCLAIR | THE TIMES

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