Methodical Approach: Strong body of work helps Dominican garner No. 1 Seed
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
The line of demarcation for Dominican’s volleyball program came after a 3-0 loss to Mt. Carmel for the 2019 Division I state championship.
It was the fourth state runner-up finish for the school that included such finishes in 2003, 2010, and ’19, with two of those setbacks to Mt. Carmel and the other two against St. Joseph’s Academy.
Dominican finally broke through a year later in 2020 with a 3-1 victory over St. Joseph’s Academy, the program’s first state crown. That sparked a stretch of four consecutive state championships, two against Mt. Carmel and two against SJA, until a fifth straight trip last season wound up in a 3-1 setback to Slidell.
“This wasn’t the mentality of our program,” said Dominican coach Jessica Chatellier, now in her 19th season. “We knew we’d make it to playoff time, but at one point we were fighting to get to the Pontchartrain Center (site of state tournament) when it was there. It’s awesome to have that as a standard in our program.
“We don’t set as our goal at the start of the season to win state, it’s kind of understood that’s kind of where we want to be, fighting for at the end,” Chatellier said. “We set our goals as how we want to keep our standard in our gym and how we want to keep things at the level we want to be to make that run.”
Dominican (36-5) has the most wins statewide and will follow a similar theme when it begins the Division I state playoffs. Dominican is the top-seeded team and hosts No. 32 Central Lafourche (18-19) at 6 p.m. in Tuesday’s first round.
The Lafayette Cajundome serves as host of the state tournament Nov. 13-15.
“It’s been amazing to be part of that mindset change and see these kids understand that a lot of it is about the court, but it’s also about their mental,” Chatellier said. “A lot of it it’s about being a great teammate and taking care of their responsibilities along the way.”
Dominican shared the District 8-I championship with Mt. Carmel when the two New Orleans powerhouses needed five sets to determine the Oct. 28 matchup. Dominican won the first two sets, Mt. Carmel rallied to tie the match at 2-all when Dominican emerged with a 15-12 verdict in its only five-set match this season.
“It was a very good season,” said Chatellier, owner of a 588-182 record. “We’ve had a really good year, been pretty consistent across the board. The teams that we’ve lost to have been really great teams. They were matches we’ll never regret playing because they were against great teams, and we’ve learned from it as we’ve gone through the season.”
Half of Dominican’s six-member senior class was back this season as starters, providing the foundation for the team.
Setter Molly Baker, the younger sister of former two-time Gatorade Player of the Year Kate Baker, has been among the team’s catalysts along with hitters Rani Smith and Mallie Mahoney. Libero Aurore Tortorich is the lone junior who started a year ago and has given the team a supreme defender.
“Last year was the first time they’ve had to step up and make an impact,” Chatellier said. “They were new to the whole experience, and we had a great season as well. We fell a little short at the end, and it really stuck with them. They’ve taken the role that they’ve been there when we’ve finished with the experience everybody wants at the end, and finishing with a successful season, but falling a little bit short at the end.
“They’ve come in and really preached to the young ones and talked to them about the importance of learning everything you can against every opponent, ge tting in practice and focusing on the things we’re struggling with,” Chatellier said. “We have been that older team for so long, and now we’ve had some young kids on the floor. We have a bunch of sophomores contributing this year, and it’s not only their first time on the court, but also their first time on varsity. It’s been an interesting dynamic for us.”
Outside hitter/right-side hitter Kaitlyn Byrd and defensive specialist Sadie Cambre are part of Dominican’s junior class with a sizable sophomore group that included contributions from outside hitter Hadley Bonifacic, middle blocker/right-side hitter Hazel Roots, defensive specialist Aubrie Dalton, and outside hitter/right-side hitter Addi Shannon.
“They’ve all kind of been there and been a part of that, even if they were not on the team at the time,” Chatellier said of her players that have all gained their share of state tournament experience. “Some have sat in the stands with us. We’re a true program because our kids practice together, and they’re in the gym together, and kind of all go through the same process in preseason, all the way through. They’ve all been there through all of it.”
Baker crossed the 1,000-assist threshold in last weekend’s tournament at Episcopal School of Acadiana. She leads the team with 1,047 assists – 9.3 per match – and contributes to a stellar defense with 361 digs and 38 service aces.
“She’s been in a gym and learning for as long as she can remember,” Chatellier said. “She runs our offense. She’s incredible. The middle blockers on the other side are kind of spinning sometimes because they have no idea where she’s going with the ball, and she does a great job of keeping everybody guessing.
Dominican features a pair of left-handed hitters in Mahoney and Smith, and combined with Bonifacic, have given this year’s team a strong front line.
“We have some really big hitters,” Chatellier said. “We’re not the tallest. We’re scrappier and defense-oriented. We pride ourselves on ball control. When we have those moments where we’re out of system and things aren’t perfect, we find a way to do something with the ball. We manage to be fast, find openings, and our defense sets us up for those longer rallies that we can figure out a way around the block.”
Mahoney has 359 kills – three per set – with Smith adding 293 and Bonifacic 246.
Mahoney’s versatility lends itself to contributions in other areas, such as a team-best 55 service aces and ranks among the top five in digs with 476. Smith is the team leader in total blocks with 55, and Roots has 55.
“They’ve given us that consistency that we’ve needed all year,” Chatellier said of Mahoney and Smith. “We have them attacking from different locations in different rotations, so it’s hard for the other side to know where they’re coming from. It gives people a different look seeing some lefties coming at them. It’s something you don’t normally see.
“Ranie is powerful, jumps high,” Chatellier said. “Mallie is super-fast and puts a ton of balls away. Hadley is on the court for the first time with varsity and has done a great job for us.”
Tortorich spearheads the defense with 760 digs – 7.3 per set – and recently had a 50-dig effort in the win over Mt. Carmel. Mahoney’s 476 digs are part of a balanced effort that also includes Dalton (403), Baker (361), and Shannon (310).
“This is Aurora’s fourth year on varsity after making it as an eighth grader,” Chatellier said. “She has started since her freshman year, and it’s just consistent and calm on the court. She keeps everyone under control. She frustrates other hitters.
“We have four defensive specialists and every match they’re in double digits for digs,” Chatellier said. “Defense is something we pride ourselves on. We’re going to extend the rally as long as we possibly can.
Serving is another solid trait with this year’s team, with Mahoney’s 52 aces setting the team’s standard. Baker (39), Tortorich (33), Cambre (31), Dalton (29), and Shannon (23) are also part of that group, and Tortorich is tops in service points (226).
“It’s something we work a lot on in practice and something we pride ourselves on,” Chatellier said. “We’re trying to get as much pressure on our opponents as we can, whether it’s from the service line or out of system. When we’re in the system, we definitely want to put pressure on them.”
Dominican’s season has been a model of consistency.
They opened the year with seven victories until a 2-1 loss on Sept. 19 to Archbishop Hannan in Sacred Heart’s tournament.
That started a stretch of 14 straight wins until Oct. 9 with a 2-1 setback to Chapelle in SJA’s tournament.
There were wins over Slidell and Country Day and triumphs over Parkview Baptist at St. Thomas More during a 5-0 showing in the SJA event.
A 2-2 mark stretched into Hannan’s tournament, where a third meeting between Dominican was Hannan was captured by the home team in three sets. They began a seven-match winning streak following a four-set loss to Country Day with a 3-1 win over Dunham and the five-set encounter with Mt. Carmel that wound up in a share of the district title.
Dominican’s four losses were to teams seeded in the state playoffs – No. 2 (Mt. Carmel) and No. 10 (Chapell) in Division I, No. 2 (Hannan) in Division III, and No. 1 (Country Day) in Division V.
“One thing this team loves and they kind of coined is their ‘redemption’ games,” Chatellier said. “They try to keep the mentality of next ball, next play, and next opponent. They really do learn from what they’ve done, and when we do take a loss, they’re back in the gym and focusing on what they need to do to improve, especially against that opponent if they get another shot.
“We’re playing these good teams we’ve learned so much playing against them,” Chatellier said. “They know what to work on, and they can use it for that next opponent. They know it’s all about what you do next, how you respond to what went wrong.”
Like their state championship brethren between 2020-23, this year’s team followed a familiar pattern of not dropping two straight matches at any point in the season.
They responded to losses to three of their four defeats when opportunities for another rematch presented itself, with the exception of the regular-season finale against STM, a team defeat it defeated on Sept. 27.
“It’s something they feel is a standard and something they’re pushing for,” Chatellier said of a state championship. “Over the last six years, we’ve taken it one opponent at a time. We know what our end goal is. But daily we’ve sat down and had their goals for the week. It’s focusing on one practice, one opponent, and taking it one day at a time.”