Flying High: Parkview Baptist’s Volleyball sweeps St. Michael for Third District Title in Four Years

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Parkview Baptist’s volleyball team started with a small goal they hope will morph into something much bigger next month.

For the second consecutive season the Lady Eagles captured the District 5, Division III championship with a 25-17, 25-7 victory over St. Michael the Archangel in a match played Tuesday at St. Michael.

“We trained a lot for this.” Parkview Baptist senior outside hitter/libero Laurel Cassidy said. “We have little goals for ourselves and district was one of them. We came out strongly after a couple of practices before this. We were really focused and trusted each other. We came out and had a good time.”

Cassidy, an LSU commitment, said this was the third district title in four seasons. 

Parkview Baptist (19-8), ranked No. 7 in the state’s power rankings and No. 8 in the VSN/GeauxPreps Power 25 poll, marched through the district tournament with a pair of sweeps over Geo Next and St. Michael. 

The Lady Eagles’ convincing win came against the Lady Warriors (22-4), the No. 1 team in Division III and No. 18 team in the VSN/Geaux Preps rankings.

“To see where we are, especially getting toward the end of the playoffs, going into the playoffs,” PBS coach Allison Leake said of the tournament’s motivation. “They’re ranked No. 1 in our division right now. It kind of gives us a chance to see what we’re capable of.”

Parkview, which went 2-2 in last week’s Country Day Tournament, finishes the regular season by hosting Division I staple Dutchtown at 6 p.m. Thursday and Lakeshore at 6 p.m. next Wednesday.

“We played well, they were in spurts,” Leake said of the Country Day event. “It’s the longevity of the consistency that we need to work on and I thought we did a good job of that tonight.”

Parkview was dominant throughout its first match of the season with St. Michael. The Lady Eagles didn’t trail in the first set, faced a 1-0 deficit in the second set, and never had to use any of their timeouts.

Junior middle blocker/outside hitter/right side Jana Thymes led PBS with 11 kills and two blocks, while Cassidy had seven kills, seven digs, and two service aces. Senior defensive specialist/libero Ava LeBlanc had six digs and two blocks from senior middle blocker/right-side hitter Riley Hauck.

“I felt pretty confident walking in here,” PBS junior setter Aadyn Polk said. “It’s October, so things are starting to get serious.”

With Polk flawlessly leading the offense with 22 assists, Parkview took advantage of three unforced errors to lead 7-6 in the opening set. Freshman Marin Price produced one of her four kills and another attacking error led to a 11-6 advantage.

Parkview Baptist’s service, which produced eight aces, proved difficult for St. Michael’s defense to solve. 

“I thought when we actually got to play our effort was really good,” said St. Michael coach Rob Smith, whose team closes the regular season next Monday at Denham Springs at 6 p.m. and hosts Lutcher at 5:30 on Wednesday. “We played good defense but obviously struggled with first contact which was our serve-receive. It was not very good tonight and that’s usually something we can hang out hat on. Sometimes in basketball shots just don’t fall. That was our bugaboo tonight.”

PBS turned a five-point lead into an 18-12 cushion on Polk’s ace. Cassidy had a kill after the Lady Eagles’ defense kept a rally alive to make it 22-16.

Cassidy had five of her seven kills in the first set for a 23-17 cushion and later served the final three points that ended on a wide return. 

“We have been working on serving tougher which also helps our serve-receive,” Leake said. “We’ve done somethings in the last couple of days at practice to help with our serving.”

Both Leake and Cassidy commended the play of Polk which impacted the play of the offense.

“From the beginning until now I keep telling her that her improvement has been so much from the beginning until now,” Leake said. “She’s doing a phenomenal job for us.”

“She’s grown so much,” Cassidy said. “She’s matured so much, not just as a player but as a person. She’s going to be a great leader next year her senior year. She does everything we ask of her and that’s a lot for a setter, especially for a junior. She carries herself so well.”

Bella Bravata had one of her six kills to give St. Michael an early lead but PBS, with Price serving, reeled off six consecutive points for a 6-1 lead in the opening stages of the second set.

Bella Johnston also contributed six kills and Bravata added five digs, and Marielle Gary seven assists and six digs.

“We try to do our best the first five (points) of every game to get the momentum in our favor,” Cassidy said. “Every five we’ll come together and talk about it. We definitely focus a lot on momentum to get us rolling because we are about attitudes and momentum and how we’re going to play.”

PBS never let off the gas.

The Lady Eagles stretched their lead to 17-6 with four service points from Cassidy which included a pair of aces, and Polk fed Price for a kill. The combination of Price and Thymes teamed up for a block and a 21-6 lead.

Price served the final three points, including an ace, and two kills from Thymes following assists from Polk.

“The kids were ready,” Didier said. “We won a district championship last year and they wanted to win another one this year. They have friends on St. Michael’s team. A little rivalry. It’s always a fun match.”