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Written by Ron Brocato Wednesday, 04 November 2009 15:54
Prep Sports
St. Joseph Academy, which has won five of the last seven Division I volleyball championships, is the top seed in the 2000 LHSAA State Tournament.
And, once again, the Nov. 12-14 matches at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner has the usual cast of champions, including Fontainebleau, the team St. Joseph’s defeated to win the 2008 title.
But there is a little twist of interest. While St. Joseph’s touts a record of 42-1 entering its regional round game on Monday, the only defeat on the Redstickers’ record came at the hands of No. 3 seed Fontainebleau on Oct. 9 in a tournament at Country Day. That upset of sort snapped SJA’s streak of 31 wins in the early part of the season.
Fontainebleau comes in with an impressive 39-2 record. So why are the Lady Bulldogs seeded third behind 36-5 Mount Carmel? The seeding committee was apparently impressed by the two factors: the Cubs have twice beaten Fontainebleau and the caliber of their district opponents, two of which (Dominican and Chapelle) are also in the tournament field.
Mount Carmel opens tournament play on Monday against the winner of the Dutchtown-Carencro match, being played today in Prairieville. Both drew middle-of-the field seeds.
No. 4 Dominican is 31-9 with losses to St. Joseph, Fontainebleau, Chapelle and Mount Carmel, but proved to be a difficult hurdle for both. Despite its 17-15 record, Chapelle earned the No. 8 seed and has a big test to pass on Monday when the Chipmunks host 25-13 Barbe, the No. 9 seed.
If the division is true to form, look for St., Joseph’s and Dominican to square off in the top half of the semifinal round bracket and for Mount Carmel and Fontainebleau to vie for the other spot in the championship match.
Division II – Defending champion Cabrini slipped to the No. 4 seed in the eyes of the seeding committee despite its back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. Perhaps it was the Crescents’ 23-13 record.
But the fact remains that this is a team bent on turning for a “hat trick” in the title match. An examination of Cabrini’s record shows that of its 13 losses, nine were against highly ranked Division I opponents. Overlooked was the fact that Cabrini has beaten 11 of the 12 Division II opponents it has faced.
The top seed went to St. Thomas More (30-12). Twelve losses seem to be a lot for a No. 1 seed, but most were against quality opponents, including six Division I teams.
Assumption (29-11) is the No. 2 seed after dropping down from Division I, despite losses to St. Thomas More and No. 3 Chalmette early in the season.
Chalmette takes a 30-9 record into the regionals against either No. 14 Glen Oaks or No. 19 Woodlawn of Baton Rouge. The Lady Owls, which also dropped down from Division I, are poised to make a deep run in the playoffs and have wins over Assumption and Cabrini to back their confidence.
Division III – An E.D. White team that finished a Cinderella 2008 season with a state title, will be hard-pressed to repeat, according to the committee that seeded it No. 4. Among the reasons is that White (25-11) has lost twice to the No. 2 seed, Ursuline.
Under returning coach Jay Jay Juan, Ursuline has emerged as a Division II power. Juan, who led Mount Carmel to three Division I titles prior to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, returned this season to answer the void left by the death of longtime coach Marta Bott. He has taken the Lions to a 28-8 record. And they have not lost to an opponent in their division.
Notre Dame (36-5) is the No. 1 seed. The Lady Pios, who lost in last year’s semifinals to runner-up Academy of the Sacred Heart, have been impressive throughout the season. Their only defeats were against Division I opponents.
Division IV – 2008 champion McGehee (30-7) drew the top spot and appears to have an easy tour through three tournament matches to get to the finals. Two teams that could upset the Hawks’ plans, however, are Sacred Heart and Catholic of New Iberia.
This very young Sacred Heart team, which once dominated its division, lost eight of its first 10 matches this season, which reflects in its 14-19 record. But Coach Mike Barnes’ squad has won its last two regular season matches over No. 3 seed Newman and McGehee and could earn a quarterfinal rematch with the top ranked Hawks.
Catholic (26-11) is a solid No. 4 seed, which has not lost a match in its division.
All eyes will be watching the progress of No. 2 seed Northlake Christian. Why? Three reasons: Northlake is the defending Division V champion, which moved up in class… the Lady Wolverines have an impressive 27-9 record… and they have not only beaten five teams entered in the Division IV tournament, they have not lost a regular season match to a Division IV opponent.
The No. 3 seed is Newman, despite its 21-14 record with five losses against opponents in this division.
Division V – Now that Northlake Christian is out of this division, perennial power Episcopal of Acadiana can breathe easily again. Once unbeatable in the lowest LHSAA division ESA had to take a back seat to Northlake, which claimed the 2007 and 2008 titles from ESA in the finals. Now the Falcons (27-11) may be able to enjoy another visit to the state tournament.
Country Day (23-7) is seeded second. The Lady Cajuns could pose a problem for ESA, but first have to get past the regional round win between district mate Ecole Classique (20-9) and Archbishop Hannan (13-12), which has won its last eight matches after a dubious first half of the season.
Houma Christian, the No. 3 seed, may be Country Day’s toughest test. Houma takes a 32-6 record into post-season play, which includes a 14-match victory streak. It has lost to ESA, but it took five games for the Falcons to leave with a victory.
Under the new LHSAA tournament format, the regional round will not be part of the tournament, which will cut the tournament field from 16 to eight teams in each division. This change will save the qualifying schools traveling, lodging and meals expenses for one day and allow a three-day rest before quarterfinal round play begins on Nov. 12.
