LAFAYETTE — Two Lake Area teams — Sam Houston and Westlake — returned to the high school state volleyball tournament Thursday at the Cajundome.

While Sam Houston earned an extended stay in its 19th trip to the tournament, Westlake did not.

Sam Houston

Sam Houston broke through the quarterfinals for the first time in more than a decade and extended the career of its longtime head coach, Rene Fontenot.

Division II No. 2 Sam Houston beat No. 7 Kenner Discovery Health Science 25-14, 25-24, 25-17 to give Fontenot her 821st career win.

“I’m so excited,” Fontenot said. “I keep asking God, ‘Just one more day.’

“I’m so excited because they came out pretty calm. We kind of clammed up and got a little stagnant there at the end, but they started off more relaxed than we’ve had, I’ve seen, in the last three years. Because I have to remember, only four of them were out there last year.”

Sam Houston (39-6) plays No. 3 Ben Franklin at 1:40 p.m. today (Friday, Nov. 14) in the semifinals. Sam Houston lost to Ben Franklin at the Covenant Christian tournament on Oct. 4.

“It was probably our worst match of the year,” Fontenot said of the loss to Ben Franklin. “So I think either one of them is going to be kind of like an Assumption.

“(I will tell them) to enjoy the moment and make sure that we’re good students and watching our opponents later on tonight, and then to play the game that we’ve been practicing,” Fontenot said. “We don’t have to do a lot of adaptations based on what we see. We need to do what we do well instead of trying to do too much. That’ll work.”

The Broncos beat Assumption in four sets in the regionals Saturday in Moss Bluff.

Outside hitter Aubrey Portie led the Broncos with a double-double on 11 kills and 15 digs plus three aces. McNeese State-bound Ava Henry and Bailey Foolkes added 11 kills and 28 assists, respectively.

The first set was tied 1-1 but the Broncos never trailed.

Kenner Discovery tied the second set twice early before the Broncos went on a 5-0 run on a kill and ace by Portie, plus a kill and block by Chloe Sanchez to get some breathing room.

Westlake

Division III No. 9 Westlake’s season ended at the hands of defending state champion Archbishop Hannan (31-6) in straight sets 25-21, 25-8, 25-15.

“I’m proud of them,” Westlake head coach Gloria Fontenot said of her players. “I think watching how much growth from when these kids were freshmen to seniors.

“You know, we have the 10 seniors, and they’ve come so far. A lot of them don’t play club ball. In fact, none of them play club ball. So we’re over here competing with the private schools that all these kids play club ball.”

Westlake (22-12) led 1-0 on a kill by Gabby Guillory to open the match and tied the first set five times, keeping pace with the powerhouse that has won three state championships in the last four seasons. Chloe Bertrand’s ace cut the Hawks lead to 21-20 but that was as close as the Rams would get the rest of the match.

“I think we went at them,” Fontenot said. “We served tough, tried to keep them out of system. Our serves were hitting spots where we needed to get them out of system.

“We were swinging, mixing up our shots, and our passes were there. We were more in system. And then that kind of all changed. In the second set, they took us out of server receive. And, of course, that throws your offense off.”

Gabby Guillory led the Rams with 12 kills and three blocks while Maddy Guillory had 22 assists and Cat Jones added 13 digs.

 

Louisiana High School Athletic Association state volleyball tournament

at Cajundome

Quarterfinals

Thursday

Division I

No. 1 Slidell def. No. 9 Southside, 25-21, 25-12, 25-14.

No. 4 Hahnville vs. No. 12 Northshore, 8 p.m., Court 2

No. 3 Mt. Carmel vs. No. 6 Dutchtown, 8 p.m., Court 3

No. 2 Dominican vs. No. 10 Archbishop Chapelle, 8 p.m. Court 3

Division II

No. 1 St. Thomas More def. No. 9 St. Scholastics, 25-23, 25-15, 27-25.

No. 4 Lakeshore def. No. 5 Academy of Our Lady, 22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-15.

No. 3 Ben Franklin def. No. 6 Teurlings Catholic, 25-22, 25-21, 25-16.

No. 2 Sam Houston def. No. 7 Kenner Discovery Health Science 25-14, 25-20, 25-17.

Division III

No. 1 Archbishop Hannan def. No. 9 Wesltake, 25-21, 25-8, 25-15.

No. 5 Parkview Baptist def. No. 4 St. Michael the Archangel, 25-17, 25-15, 25-17.

No. 6 E.D. White def. No. 3 Vandebilt Catholic, 20-25, 25-22, 29-27, 25-16.

No. 2 Haynes Academy def. No. 7 University Lab, 25-23, 25-11, 25-17.

Division IV

No. 8 Dunham def. No. 1 John Curtis Christian, 23-25, 25-27, 25-22, 25-22, 15-9.

No. 4 Isidore Newman def. No. 5 Calvary Baptist, 26-24, 25-23, 25-18.

No. 3 Northlake Christian def. No. 6 Catholic-New Iberia, 25-18, 25-23, 25-16.

No. 2 Lafayette Christian def. No. 7 Academy of Sacred Heart-N.O., 25-19, 25-18, 11-25, 25-19.

Division V

No. 1 Metairie Park Country Day def. No. 9 Episcopal of Acadiana, 25-7, 25-10, 25-16.

No. 5 Louise McGehee def. No. 4 Crescent City 22-25, 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 15-6.

No. 3 Ascension Catholic def. No. 6 Riverside Academy, 25-8, 25-22, 25-14.

No. 2 Westminster Christian def. No. 7 Central Catholic, 25-17, 25-23, 25-16.

Semifinals

Friday

Division I

3:30 p.m., Court 1

3:30 p.m., Court 3

Division II

No. 1 St. Thomas More vs. No. 4 Lakeshore, 1:40 p.m., Court 1

No. 2 Sam Houston vs. No. 3 Ben Franklin, 1:40 p.m., Court 3

Division III

No. 1 Archbishop Hannan vs. No. 5 Parkview Baptist, 11:50 a.m., Court 1

No. 2 Haynes Academy vs. No. 6 E.D. White, 11:50 a.m., Court 3

Division IV

No. 4 Isidore Newman vs. No. 8 Dunhan, 10 a.m., Court 1

No. 2 Lafayette Christian vs. No. 3 Northlake Christian, 10 a.m., Court 3

Division V

No. 1 Metairie Park Country Day vs. No. 5 Louise McGehee, 11:50 a.m., Court 2

No. 2 Westminster Christian vs. No. 3 Ascension Catholic, 10 a.m., Court 2

Finals

Saturday

Division V, 9 a.m.

Division IV, 11:30 a.m.

Division III, 2 p.m.

Division II, 4:30 p.m.

Division I, 7 p.m.