Road to the Cajundome: LHSAA Volleyball Teams Set Sights on State Titles

by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Destination Cajundome.

A total of 160 teams from five separate divisions learned where their initial launching points will be in a potential path to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association State Volleyball Tournament scheduled for Nov. 14-16 at the UL Cajundome in Lafayette.

Four of the top seeds — Slidell in Division I, Hannan in Division III, John Curtis in Division IV, and Country Day in Division V – hail from the New Orleans area while St. Thomas More of Lafayette earned the top seed in Division III.

Hannan (33-7) opens defense of its Division III state championship at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday with a bi-district pairing against fellow District 6 rival Loranger while the four other top seeds begin play on Wednesday. The Hawks are seeking their fourth state title in five seasons and fifth overall under Bonnaffee (2023, 2021, 2020, 2018).

“Everybody likes to be No. 1, but it puts a lot of pressure on the girls,’’ Hannan coach Rebekka Bonnaffee, whose team is 19-1 in its last 20 matches, said Monday. “Typically, this is not my most comfortable place. I like to fight to get to No. 1. But we’ll take it. It puts us in a good place for the bracket obviously. So I’m not complaining.’’

Vandebilt Catholic, Haynes, St. Michael the Archangel of Baton Rouge, and Parkview Baptist completed Division III’s top five seeds.

“Being the No. 1 does have its advantages,’’ Bonnaffee said. “Loranger is in our district, so we know what to expect from them. We’ve already played them. We’re confident. If we show up, we’ll be OK for the first round. Then we’ve got to go from there. We try not to overlook anybody, for sure.’’

When reminded that Hannan won its state championship as a top seed in 2023, Bonnaffee said, “This year is different, though. Every year is different. I feel like this year that it’s anybody’s ballgame (in Division III). Everybody’s got to show up.’’

Slidell (34-4) maintained the No. 1 seed in Division I despite dropping its final two regular-season matches to Fontainebleau and Northlake Christian. The Tigers had won nine straight matches prior to those losses, but the Fontainebleau defeat was particularly costly since it decided the District 6-I crown in favor of Fontainebleau.

The Tigers, in their first season under Tullis, advanced to the Division I state semifinals last season as a No. 4 seed and now look for bigger and better things as a No. 1, starting with Wednesday’s 3:30 p.m. bi-district pairing versus No. 32 Airline. The winner plays the Ruston-East Ascension winner, probably on Saturday.

“We’re excited. We’ve had a great season,’’ Slidell coach Danny Tullis said. “It’s the first time in school history that we’re the No. 1 power-ranked team going in. We’re not looking past anyone. We’re not thinking that we’ve accomplished anything yet. We have the goal of wanting to play our absolute best and then to be in the state championship game with a chance to win the championship.

“So, until we have that achieved, we’re not satisfied. We’re definitely excited and definitely happy, but definitely not satisfied. My girls are ready, so we’ll see.’’

Four-time reigning Division I state champion Dominican, District 8-I champion Mount Carmel, Hahnville, and Fontainebleau complete the top five seeds behind Slidell.

The Tigers’ late swoon coincided with the loss of senior outside hitter Reagan Robinson for nearly two weeks due to a sprained ankle. A 5-foot-7 senior, Robinson has returned to full strength and is available immediately if needed, Tullis said while adding that he would like to hold Robinson out of the first round if possible as a precautionary measure.

“We thought we had a really good run going,’’ Tullis said. “Reagan got injured in the Mandeville match (on Oct. 22) and after that we almost like hit the bottom a little bit. It’s kind of like we weren’t playing great and the teams we were playing did play well. That showed us that a lot of it has to do with psychological toughness. We had to refocus.

“Reagan has been rehabbing really hard, so she looks much better now. She did some stuff full speed Sunday and she looked really good. So she’s back if we need her,’’ Tullis said. “Obviously, we’ll see how long we can keep her out before (she plays). But she’s back. We’re excited about that.’’

The Tigers’ draw appears favorable in that they would not face either of District 8-I’s Catholic schools, Dominican and/or Mount Carmel, until the Nov. 16 finals.

“Which is what everybody’s looking for this year,’’ Tullis said. “Any time you go into the playoffs, that’s what everybody wants. You want to not see the No. 1 Catholic League team till the end. That’s always the best scenario for a public school, but … you’ve got to look at them as just another team if you want to beat them.

“We beat Dominican. Mount Carmel beat us, but we beat Dominican, so we’ve been considered in that realm all year. It’s just a matter of staying healthy. We really haven’t been healthy the entire season, but you do what you can do.’’

St. Thomas More (32-3) is seeking its fourth consecutive Division II state crown after winning the three most recent three state titles as a top seed. The Cougars, who had won 11 straight matches before falling to Vandebilt Catholic in its regular-season finale, earned the top seed in Division II with No. 2 Sam Houston, No. 3 Ben Franklin, No. 4 Lakeshore and No. 5 Academy of Our Lady completing the top five.

St. Thomas More plays host to The Willow School from New Orleans in its first-round match whose date and starting time still were to be determined as of Monday evening. The winner plays the winner between No. 16 Karr and No. 17 Scotlandville in the regional round.

John Curtis (34-7) begins pursuit of its third state championship in volleyball, but the first since 1991 when it opens the Division IV playoffs by playing host to Pine at 4 p.m. Wednesday with the winner advancing to play the winner between No. 16 Welsh and No. 17 Many in regionals.

The Patriots enter the postseason having won their last nine matches to earn the top seed in Division IV ahead of No. 2 Lafayette Christian, No. 3 Northlake Christian, No. 4 Newman, and No. 5 Calvary Baptist. Northlake Christian is the reigning Division IV state champion.

“I think we finished the season on a really high note,’’ John Curtis coach Alyx Carter said. “We just went to the (Dunham) Skeleton Classic on Saturday and we finished 4-0 (versus St. Michael’s the Archangel, Mandeville, Fontainebleau, and Covington). We played some good teams. I like the way we ended the season.

“I think we have a really tough division, tougher than last year given that we’ve had some new schools added this year. So it just felt good to close off the regular season that way (by winning). We’re looking forward to a state tournament. Hopefully, we have five matches left.’’

The key for the Patriots is the same as it’s been all season.

“The biggest thing moving forward is ball control,’’ Carter said. “Certainly at the high school level, serve, receive and defense is a huge factor in your success. I think in order to be successful against the teams we may see moving forward if we continue to win, I think a key factor to beating those teams is just having better ball control. So we’re excited. We’re ready. See you at the ’Dome.’’

Country Day (27-6) earned the top seed in Division V as the Cajuns seek a ninth consecutive state title in volleyball and 15th overall in 19 seasons under Coach Julie Ibieta. Westminster Christian, Ascension Catholic, Crescent City Christian, and Louise McGehee complete the top five seeds in Division I.

Ibieta’s Cajuns play host to Southern Lab at 6 p.m. Wednesday in bi-district with the winner advancing to play the winner between No. 16 Northside Christian and No. 17 Catholic-Pointe Coupee in regionals.

“I think the girls are really excited,’’ Ibieta said of her team that boasts 8 seniors. “I think the last month we’ve played some really good volleyball, so we feel like we’re playing our best right now and really ready for this next challenge and really excited about it.

“We just need to keep playing aggressively and keep out-hustling our opponents. We have to go into the playoffs with a competitive mindset. That’s probably what’s been most beneficial for us this year and I think we just have to keep doing that.’’

The Cajuns enter the playoffs at full strength and hungry as ever with seniors Addison Launey, Lia Beverly, Jane Gambel, Maggie Schneider, Elle Nunez, Hope Singleton, Faith Fennidy, and Julianne Isacks leading the charge.

“(Winning) never gets old,’’ Ibieta said. “This is the most fun time of the year and we’re looking forward to playing our best and hopefully the outcome comes in our favor. I would like to say that my group has been fortunate to be led by a great group of seniors. They’ve really stepped up and made their mark and made their way. They’ve been great leaders.’’