Country Day Volleyball 2024: A New Chapter for Louisiana’s Elite

by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

With each new season comes a new blank canvas, a virtual treasure trove of potential to embrace.

This is the philosophy that Country Day volleyball coach Julie Ibieta has employed during 20 Hall of Fame-worthy seasons spent constructing the Lady Cajuns into a Division V powerhouse.

The approach has produced eight consecutive Division V state champions and 14 overall state titles in her first 18 seasons.

Get this.

Country Day returns its top six players from a season ago, including three All-State selections and two college commits, that helped produce a 28-9 season that culminated with a No. 1 seed and a clean sweep through five matches and 15 games in the playoffs.

“Even though you are returning starters and returning a lot of the personnel, each year is a new year,’’ Ibieta said. “(The players) all are a year older. They all have to take on new roles of leadership and responsibilities on the court. So you really have to start from scratch and figure out your team’s personality, their strengths and weaknesses and we feel like we have a good start with that.

“(The players) have a great personality. They have a great work ethic. They all really get along and most importantly they all want to win. It’s not about the individual accolades in our group, it’s more about the team’s success.

“And that’s huge part of it, that they all buy into the team. And they do a great job of doing what we ask them to do. They’re great students. They’re great people. They’re becoming great leaders, so we really are fortunate to have such a cohesive group leading into this year. We are excited about the possibilities. We are looking forward to them growing each week. Our goal is to play our best in October, so we know we’ll have some bumps on the road in the first month or so trying to figure it out. We understand that we have to work hard to improve every week.’’

Not that the Lady Cajuns, who boast eight seniors, lack talent, experience, and recognition.

Seniors Lia Beverly, Jane Gambel, and Addison Launey are returning Louisiana Volleyball Coaches Association All-State selections.

Beverly is a 6-foot middle blocker who is an Alabama-Birmingham commit and the reigning District 9-V Most Valuable Player. Gambel is a 5-foot-11 right side/outside hitter who is a Sewanee commit who earned Division V state tournament MVP honors last season. Launey is a 5-foot-5 senior Libero and a key back-row contributor.

Less publicized, but no less valuable is senior setter Maggie Schneider, a 5-foot-8, four-year starter, who, as Ibieta said, “is the key to our offense.’’

Senior outside hitter Elle Nunez and sophomore outside hitter Jade Washington round out the projected starting six. Nunez is 5-foot-7 and another four-year player while the 5-foot-8 Washington saw significant playing time as a freshman.

Sophomore front row Marleigh White is an additional returnee expected to contribute as an outside hitter and middle blocker.

“I can’t really say that I have a ‘best’ player,’’ Ibieta said in assessing the squad. “They’re all very different and they all kind of lead in their own categories. We have five seniors who have played extensively. They’re returning with a lot of experience and have been key players in our state championships over the last two or three years. We’re returning six players (total) with a lot of experience. Lia will be a big offensive weapon, but she hopefully will lead us in blocks this year. Jade played a significant amount for us last year and we hope that she takes on more responsibility. She’s really kind of primed to have a great year.’’

As, seemingly, are all of the Cajuns.

Consider that Country Day’s ascent to yet another state crown included five consecutive match victories in which the Lady Cajuns did not lose a game. The top seeds from Old Metairie bested in order No. 32 Northeast, 3-0, in bi-district; No. 16 Highland Baptist, 3-0, in the regional round; No. 9 Episcopal of Acadiana, 3-0, in the quarterfinals; No. 4 Central Catholic, 3-0 in the semifinals and then No. 2 Westminster Christian, 3-0, in the championship match.

The top six players from that team return with the goal of painting a new masterpiece.

“It really is a whole new canvas every year,’’ said Gambel. “I think the biggest thing for us to remember is that at the start of the season, we are a new team. Even if we have a lot of returning players, we are not the same team. We don’t have the same lineup. We have to remember that no matter what happened last season, we still have to work just as hard if not harder to make sure it happens again.

“Winning state championships the last few years, it’s a big deal so we have a huge target on our back. We have to remember that just because we’re a pretty consistently good team, we still have to push hard and work harder to get where we need to be. We must remember that other teams are also working just as hard as we are to try to win the title we have. So that’s a big thing.’’

As always, Ibieta has scheduled another daunting gauntlet of regular-season matches to hone the mettle of her squad beyond the challenges posed by district rivals Louise McGehee, M.L. King Charter, St. Katherine Drexel, and newcomer Lycee Francis de la Nouvelle Orleans. The non-district slate carries matches versus Parkview Baptist, Mount Carmel, Dominican, John Curtis, Sacred Heart, Mandeville, Haynes, The Willow School, E.D. White, Northlake Christian, Slidell, St. Scholastica, Hannan, Ben Franklin, Northshore, Cabrini, and Assumption.

Dominican and Mount Carmel are reigning Division I champion and runner-up respectively while Ben Franklin and St. Scholastica were Division II semifinalists. Hannan and E.D. White are the reigning Division III champion and runner-up with Parkview Baptist a Division III semifinalist. Northlake Christian is the reigning Division IV champion and John Curtis a Division IV semifinalist. 

“The overall goal of the season is to win a state championship. That is our goal,’’ Ibieta said. “But we really pride ourselves on playing a tough schedule every year. We play as many bigger schools and state champions from other divisions as we can. Our goal is not to go undefeated; our goal is to challenge ourselves and play (against) the best every week and make sure we’re ready at the end of the season, that we’ve seen all types of play, we’ve seen every level of play and we feel like we are poised to play the best in our division and are ready for whatever kind of tempo they play and whatever they’re going to bring to the court.

“So our goal really is challenge ourselves every week, get better, and then when we get to the end we are ready for whatever the state tournament brings us.’’

The Cajuns seem to lack no ingredients for a repeat, times nine.
“We’re a pretty tall team, we’re pretty big,’’ Ibieta said. “I think offensively we’re going to be pretty impressive. I think that’s going to be our strength. We’re going to have a lot of weapons. We’re not going to have to depend on one person to put balls away. We’re going to have like five or six. I think that’s going to be a fun part of our season.

“I think we have to figure out our defense a little bit and make sure we have good ball control. We spend a lot of our time right now on ball control because we feel like, though it’s not necessarily our weakness, it’s the thing we need to make the biggest jump with. But I would definitely say that our offense should be fun to watch, and, like I said, have a lot of different weapons. We’re going to be a fun team to watch, I think.’’

The fun begins Sept. 3 when the Cajuns open the regular season on the road at Parkview Baptist. The regular season concludes on Nov. 2 with the state playoffs opening on Nov. 6 and culminating with the LHSAA State Volleyball Tournament scheduled for Nov. 14-16 at the UL Cajundome in Lafayette.

“I think having eight seniors who have been on the team for at least a year now sets us up for an advantage because of the connection we have with the team,’’ senior Libero Addison Launey said. “I think especially with the majority of us having started on the court the last two years now really represents a powerful advantage for us just like the connection we have with everyone.

“I think this year we’re really focusing on keeping that positive mentality on the court. We have a lot of new younger kids and we have to hold ourselves accountable and show them how playing at the varsity level should be. So those are some of our bigger goals this year, especially with such a big senior class.’’

“People always say, ‘Oh, you guys have won a lot these past couple of years,’’’ said Beverly. “But, honestly, each season that I’ve been on a team you always have a reboot, a start-over, if that makes sense. This season we have eight seniors, which is a lot of seniors, definitely. Most of us have been on varsity together and a lot of us have been playing. So that chemistry and us having that experience of the last two years of state, we kind of know coming in what the mindset is that the team needs to have in order to be successful this season.”

“So having good communication on the court is something that we’re working on as well as all-out hustle. I think bringing the positive energy to the gym starting off with day one of the summer is what’s going to translate into the rest of the season. The good thing, I think, is that we’re all on the same page. That’s what I’m most excited for.’’

“Just from what I’ve seen,’’ Beverly added, “I think the thing that’s going to keep us going through the season and especially in the hard times is the fact that we’re all on the same page. I think that started with us creating some norms in the gym, of the communication, of the all-out hustle, of the supporting of one another. I think those three basics — even though in past years I feel like we may not have focused on those as much — this year with there being eight of us (seniors), we know how important all of that is to the success of the team at all levels.

“Since we’ve already started talking about that, I feel like that’s going to be (important) in those hard moments when you’re tired and you don’t want to communicate. If you just start (drilling) that in practice when you’re tired, that’s what’s going to translate into November in the playoffs.’’
Ibieta points to another key, staff stability. Assistants Dana Launey, Lauren Leaumont, and Myra Bordelon have coached alongside Ibieta for the past 17 seasons.

“Part of the success in our program has been because of our staff,’’ Ibieta said. “I’ve been fortunate to have the same staff for the last 17 years. We are in this together. They have been a huge part in the success of this program because we work together every day. We’re all on the same page. We all love this program. So it’s been one of the reasons that we’ve been able to be so successful, that we’re carrying the same message year to year.’’

The message this season is simple and much as it has been for two decades.

“Everybody has to understand what the goal is in the group,’’ Ibieta said. “The hardest thing for (players) is, as they go through it, their freshman year they’re hungry and eager to learn, their sophomore year they take on a little more responsibility, but by the time they’re seniors their role completely changes because they’re not only responsible for themselves, they’re responsible to mentor the younger kids, too. That’s a huge responsibility while they’re trying to figure out where they’re going to college and graduate from high school.

“It seems like you just roll from year to year, but you really don’t. (The players) change so much in their personality and their maturity level from each year that you really have to figure them out each year. And they have to figure out themselves. But this group is working hard. We’re excited about the possibilities of this season and how good we can be. I expect a lot from them and they expect a lot from themselves.’’