No. 1 Slidell Takes Down No. 2 Dominican in Division I Volleyball Championship Game

by: Travis Connelley // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

LAFAYETTE — During the regular season, Slidell quickly found immense success. Under veteran head coach Danny Tullis, the Tigers rose to the ranks of not only District 6-I but also the No. 1 ranking in the geauxpreps.com Division I Power Ratings as early as the first week of October. 

And that success not only carried over into the postseason for the top-ranked Tigers but also all the way to a Division I State Championship after Slidell defeated No. 2 Dominican Saturday 25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 25-15 in the state finals. 

After the match, Tullis talked about the significance of the number 7 and his late son Christian. 

“His favorite number was seven, we played at 7:00 tonight and it just happens to be my seventh state championship,” he said. “I feel like with those things going on, Christian was with us and we couldn’t lose. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of scary playing Dominican in the championship.” 

It didn’t take long for Slidell to get going. The Tigers jumped out to an 8-3 lead fueled by stellar play from Ava Barduca who had a pair of kills. 

Afterward, Dominican narrowed the gap to two at 11-9 and kept pace with Slidell eventually pulling within one at 13-12. But the Tigers found more of their magic and got a pair of kills from Demoni Lewis to widen the lead once again to five at 18-13. They rode that momentum for the remainder of the set before taking it 25-16. 

Dominican scored four of the first five-second set points before Coach Tullis called a timeout. 

“We needed to regroup and get ourselves together,” Lewis said. “We all came together and had to hold each other accountable.” 

The break worked wonders for Slidell who came out rejuvenated and took an 11-7 lead. Even though Dominican found success as well, Slidell stayed one step ahead and took the second set, 25-20. 

A good start to the third for the Tigers was overshadowed by a better effort by Dominican who jumped ahead 8-5. 

Slidell kept pace but could not regain its composure as Dominican claimed the third set. 

Knowing that the state championship was within its grasp, Slidell came out swinging in the fourth set. Three kills from Addyson Dowell, who was named Most Outstanding Player, helped the Tigers build a 12-2 advantage. In addition to the advantage, Slidell built momentum that it did not lose for the remainder of the contest as the Tigers finished off Dominican to secure the win and the school’s first state title since 1997. 

Lewis led Slidell with 14 kills and nine blocks. 

Dominican head coach Jessica Chatellier said that she is proud of the effort her team put forth not only in the championship game but for the whole season. 

“This team and this season has taught me so much more than I think they even begin to know,” said an emotional Chatellier. “They have shown so much grit and fire and determination. We’ve been told a lot and that we weren’t really going to make it this far. We haven’t been in the conversation by anyone. They taught me so much about fighting.” 

Mihley Clayton led Dominican with 11 kills and two blocks.