Nov. 4
November 4, 2008
Roger "Jay" Rebstock
November 6, 2008
With a flip of the coin, Assumption was awarded first place in District 6-I volleyball standings Monday.
The coin toss was needed to determine playoff seeds after Terrebonne, H.L. Bourgeois and Assumption tied for the district championship with 10-2 records.
Terrebonne was granted second place in the district and H.L. Bourgeois got third.
The Lady Tigers (31-6) denied Bourgeois (24-5) the chance to claim the district title outright Thursday with a four-set 25-15, 25-18, 19-25, 25-20 victory in the Lady Braves’ gym.
Lady Tigers head coach Chip Didier credited a new offensive and defensive system implemented over the past month for the win.
Despite Terrebonne’s good start, Didier said his squad was playing too slow offensively and below its potential defensively. He made the changes midseason with the hope of bettering his team’s shot at making a deep run in the state playoffs.
“Our offense is running a lot faster, where the middle blockers can’t key on anybody. They have to cover all our hitters now. That’s a big difference,” Didier said. “On defense, we made some personnel changes in certain positions and simplified (the game plan) for them.”
In Thursday’s win over Bourgeois, Sierra Lyons led Terrebonne with 20 kills and four aces and digs. Brooke Fonseca had 12 kills and three blocks; Keierica Howard, five blocks and three kills; Shelby Bourque, 18 digs; and Danielle Liner, 36 assists, seven digs and five kills.
“The girls were hungry for those changes and those changes worked big time tonight,” Didier said. “Its cost us some games early on, but it’s clicking right now.”
Although the win avenged a home loss to Bourgeois three weeks earlier and gave Terrebonne a share of the district title, Didier said it was not the best game his squad has played.
“Last week, we beat Cabrini High, a team that many picked to win state in its division (II),” he said. “We played just as well as we did tonight.”
On the flip side, Lady Braves coach Peter Verret said the loss was not the most disappointing of the season despite losing sole claim of the district title.
“I think the Assumption loss (Oct. 16) was much more difficult for us as a team and for myself because it led to this loss,” he said. “We haven’t gotten over (the Assumption loss).”
TaShawna Wesley led Bourgeois statistically with 17 kills and three blocks. Chelsey Steele had 13 kills and three blocks; Sadie Hebert, 11 kills, four digs and two aces; Brianne Bergeron, 34 assists and two aces; Brooke Porche, five aces; and Blair Billiot had nine digs.
After starting the season 18-0, Bourgeois is 6-5 in its last 11 contests.
According to Verret, his team played “flat” and “in spurts” against their archrival Terrebonne. Bourgeois will need to recapture the focus and consistency they had earlier in the season if they are to be a state title contender again, he said.
“That was not my team out there. Not my team,” he said. “As much as you want them to be successful, the other team wants to be successful also. I can’t do it for them. They have to do it themselves. They’ve been brought to the trough. It’s time for them to drink.”
In other prep volleyball news, Houma Christian (27-5, 9-1 in district) won its second consecutive District 1-V title by defeating Delcambre on Thursday in five sets 27-25, 21-25, 23-25, 25-29, 19-17.
The Morgan City Lady Tigers (15-12, 6-2) lost Monday’s one-game tiebreaker match against Belle Chasse 25-19, 25-14, 25-19 to finish second in District 5-II.
Lady Brave outside hitter Sadie Hebert (left) gets a kill past Lady Tigers middle blocker Brooke Fonseca (right) in Thursday night’s matchup. Terrebonne won the four-set series, 25-14, 25-18, 19-25 and 25-20, preventing H.L. Bourgeois from winning the district title. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
