Country Day, Northlake Christian, Hannan, STM, Dominican capture state volleyball titles

The Greater New Orleans area once again dominated the LHSAA state volleyball championships in Lafayette, capturing four of the five titles Saturday at the Cajundome in Lafayette.

No one has done a better job in this century in her sport than Julie Ibieta.

Top-seeded Country Day (27-9) won its eighth straight state championship, capturing the Division V title with a convincing 25-10, 25-11, 25-21 victory over No. 2 Westminster Christian on Saturday morning at the Cajundome in Lafayette. It was the second straight championship match victory for the Cajuns over the Crusaders.

Ibieta has now guided the Cajuns to 14 state championships in 15 years.

Junior Jane Gambel led a balanced attack with 14 kills for the Cajuns and was named the Most Outstanding Player. Lia Beverly added 10 kills and Gigi Dazet also had 10 kills. Bethany Stoute had six kills and four blocks for Westminster Christian while Laila Gauthier added six kills.

In Division IV, third-seeded Northlake Christian captured the state championship with a solid 25-22, 25-8, 25-14 win over No. 5 Notre Dame.

After seeing Notre Dame beat defending state champion and top seed Newman Friday, the thought was that the Pios would prove to be a very tough opponent.

The Wolverines (35-7) were clearly up to the challenge.

Junior Abigail Bailey was once again the star, putting away 18 kills with three blocks and was named the Most Outstanding Player.

Valerie Brown led the Pios (26-17) with eight kills and 22 digs.

In Division III, top seed Archbishop Hannan extracted revenge, downed No. 2 seed E.D. White Catholic.

It was the second straight year that E.D. White has lost in the title match.

A year ago, the Cardinals eliminated the Hawks in five sets in the semifinals before losing to Dunham in the finals.

Hannan left no doubt, winning most of the critical points in each set.

In the final set, the Hawks trailed 20-17 before running off four straight points to take a 21-20 lead.

Hannan (41-2) led 24-22 before the Cardinals tied it 24-24.

The Hawks scored the final two points, including the game-winner delivered by Mia Phillips.

Sophia Bonnafee was the Most Outstanding Player, producing 24 kills and 10 digs as Hannan won its third state championship in four seasons. Phillips finished with nine kills.

Brightyn Ratfliff led the Cardinals (33-9) with 15 kills and 10 digs.

In Division II, top seed St. Thomas More repeated as state champion, defeating rival and third-seeded Teurlings Catholic 25-21, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23 for its third consecutive state title with all three finals being wins over the Rebels.

St. Thomas More (34-5) was led by Rhyan Miciotto, who drilled 14 kills and had 24 assists and was named the Most Outstanding Player. Isabelle Billedeaux added 13 kills.

Dee Asberry led Teurlings Catholic (31-13) with 20 kills.

In the finale, it was a renewal of the great rivalry between No. 1 Dominican and No. 2 Mount Carmel Academy.

The district rivals have now combined for the last 10 Division I state championships.

Mount Carmel had a streak of six in a row.

Dominican has now won four straight.

In the rubber match between the two teams this season, Dominican fought off the Cubs 25-14, 25-23, 19-25, 33-31 in an epic final set.

Camryn Chatellier capped a brilliant season with 21 kills, including the match-winning kill. Chatellier was named the Most Outstanding Player.

Mount Carmel (30-8) rallied after dropping the first two sets and had several leads in the fourth set but Dominican fought back each time, including from four set points for the Cubs. Julie Savois had 10 kills for Mount Carmel.

Dominican (43-2) did not win its first title until 2020. Now, it is the dominant program in the top classification in Louisiana.