Newman displays strong defense, balanced offense in Division IV State Title win over Dunham

by: Travis Connelley // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

LAFAYETTE — In a contest featuring two state championship programs from just three seasons ago, No. 2 Newman displayed a tough defense, a balanced offense, and key offensive plays as the Greenies held off the No. 1 Dunham Tigers, picking up a 28-26, 25-18, 25-20 win, Saturday, in the 2025 Division IV State Championship.  

“There are so many feelings,” Newman head coach Colleen Loerzel said. “This senior class is really special because we have an incredible group of kids who have overcome some personal adversity in addition to the adversity that comes every year on the court. We have just competed and they have invested in each other. So to see the outcome and no matter what it was, we would have been proud, but just to have it end this way is just a fairy tale.” 

In the first set, it was the Tigers who came out and set the tone, getting two kills from Zadi Huggins to grab a 5-2 lead. 

The Greenies quickly responded as the duo of LeiLani Reid and Susu Milling led the charge, as the former recorded a pair of kills and the latter a kill and an ace. The surge sparked an 8-1 run, which gave Newman a 14-9 advantage. 

Newman continued to lead, but Dunham began inching closer, eventually getting a 9-3 run to pull even at 24. Both teams continued to battle before one final push from Reid and the Greenies helped secure the first set. 

The second set started out in a similar fashion, with Huggins once again shining early on. A 6-3 Newman run shortly afterward helped give the Greenies a 9-7 lead. 

Once again, while Huggins led the charge for Dunham, Reid did the same for Newman. 

With a 15-14 lead, the Greenies got in a groove and rattled off five consecutive and eight of the next 11 points, making the score 23-17. Down the stretch, Jailly Vance made her presence known, contributing to the Greenies’ final three points of the set on a pair of kills sandwiched around a block assist. 

In the third set, the Greenies set the tone early on, jumping out to an 8-4 lead on a mostly balanced attack. 

Trailing 16-9, the Tigers got a bit of a spark with three consecutive points on a kill and block from Isabelle Richardson and a kill from Kennedi Owens. But Newman responded with more key offensive plays as Reid added two more kills to help keep the Greenies ahead. 

And despite a late push from Dunham to try and get the set win and continue the match, Newman put its defense on display one final time to preserve the win and the first state title since 2022. 

Junior LeiLani Reid led the charge for Newman with 11 kills and two aces. For her efforts, she was named Most Outstanding Player, and afterward, she named two key factors that she believes played a huge role in her team’s success. 

“I think the energy and the leadership of our seniors,” she said. “We have a great group of seniors, and they led us and pushed us a lot this year, and it paid off.” 

Dunham head coach Meagan Herrington said that it was disappointing to make a second-consecutive state championship match and come up short. But with a junior-heavy team, she believes that they can make a third-straight trip and push once again for a state title. 

“(The future) is still bright,” she said. “We are only losing three seniors, two of whom have been on the floor for us since I have been head coach here. We still have eight juniors. We are not done.” 

Huggins led the Tigers with 15 kills, while Owens had 10 kills to go along with 13 digs.