Hundreds of prep volleyball fans gathered at the Cajundome for the LHSAA State Volleyball Tournament as the final few rounds of the tournament play out on the big stage.
Lafayette Parish and its surrounding areas had six teams make it to the quarterfinals across the five divisions in St. Thomas More, Southside, Teurlings Catholic, Lafayette Christian Academy, Catholic-New Iberia and Westminster Christian. All six of these squads competed in their quarterfinals matchups on Thursday, looking to keep their state championship dreams alive.
"I feel like every set, every play like I had a rush of adrenaline like I knew in my mind I had to score for my team," Lafayette Christian Academy senior middle blocker Ariyonna Etienne said. "I'm playing for them, we're playing for each other."
Throughout those matchups, stars were born on the court. Despite the pressure and the stage being as big as it can get, these athletes thrived doing it all for their respective teams. Here are the standout players hailing from the 337 during the quarterfinal round of the LHSAA State Volleyball Tournament.
Summary: The No. 7 Knights took on the No. 2 Academy of Sacred Heart in the Division IV bracket and from Set 1 Etienne made her presence known. The senior middle blocker ended the first set leading all players with five kills and helping her team to a 25-19 win in Set 1. The timely attacks continued in the next set when LCA handled the Cardinals 25-18. She racked up three kills and three blocks in the set.
She ended the match with a team-high 14 kills and, despite the Cardinals' comeback attempt, she stayed locked in. The Knights went on to beat the Cardinals 3-1.
Lafayette Christian Academy volleyball head coach Bryan Barrett said, "It feels great getting over the quarterfinals hump. I mean, I've got a couple of these seniors that were on that 2021 team so they know what it feels like. But if you make the quarterfinals, you've got to play. We knew we could do it and we've still got work to do."
Summary: The Sharks had their work cut out for them as they took on the No. 1-seed Slidell Tigers in the Division I bracket. The No. 9 Sharks started off strong in the first set with junior outside hitter Pekar leading them with five kills. They would go on to drop the set 25-20 and that would be Southside's best finish against a tough Tigers team.
The strong start quickly fizzled out and the Tigers took advantage of that winning the second set 25-12. By Set 3, the Sharks' gas tank was practically empty down 11-1, but Pekar wasn't done yet. She racked up four kills in the set doing anything should could to get her team back in the match. Despite her efforts, Southside was swept, losing the third set 25-14.
Southside volleyball head coach Nick Hunt said, "I think whenever you look up to the scoreboard and you see 11-1, their faces you could see that they were pre-determining what was going to happen in the game. So I looked at Zsofia, and I was like, 'Hey, I need you guys to step it up.' She and Emmy (Habetz) got on the team and really pushed everybody and we finished strong. That's all I can ask for."
Summary: The No. 2-seeded Chargers were in a dogfight taking on No. 7 Central Catholic in the Division V bracket. After taking Set 1 with ease, it was a different story in Set 2. The Eagles came to life in the second set, jumping out to a six-point lead. Luckily for the WCA, Stoute was on its side leading them in kills throughout the match and as the team's :emotional leader" according to head coach Ben Briney.
"She's our emotional leader so she's big on the court for us," Briney said. "She brings that emotion to the court and everybody picks up on her. Man, it's just, it's unbelievable. It was tough to come back but when we called that timeout in the second set, they refocused and they came back."
With the Stoute leading the charge, the Chargers came back in the second set, winning it 27-26 giving them all the momentum for the rest of the match. They swept the Eagles 3-0, snagging a second consecutive appearance in the Division V semifinals.
"No one understands our struggles or what we've been through as a team," Stoute said. "But we show the heart on the court. We show that we're here for each other. This isn't a selfish team. All these girls love each other. All these girls are here to play for each other and for the glory of God."
Summary: The No. 6 seeded Panthers took on reigning champs No. 3 Northlake Christian and they had their hands full. The Wolverines were led by senior outside hitter Abby Bailey, who was a kill machine finishing the first set with eight kills. She led her team to a 3-0 sweep over the Panthers who had no answer for her. While Bailey led the Wolverines, leading Catholic-New Iberia was Trappey, a sophomore who has been a starter since she became a Panther.
She ended the night with a team-high 10 kills, 13 digs and an ace.
Catholic-New Iberia coach Gary Westcott said, Trappey "has been starting since the eighth grade, and she's not scared. She actually wants the ball in the tough situations, but unfortunately, I think she was trying to press a little bit too much, which caused a few errors down the end. But again, she led us with 10 kills."