Big volleyball tournament at Dominican

By Ron Brocato, Clarion Herald

Thirteen teams, including Division IV state champion Pope John Paul II, will converge on Dominican High School Sept. 14-15 to meet in the Catholic League Volleyball Tournament.

Co-hosted by Ursuline Academy, the tournament will be played exclusively at Dominican this year, according to the event’s organizer, Jay Jay Juan, athletic director and head volleyball coach at Ursuline.

The tournament will feature 12 matches on three side-by-side courts between 4-7:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, and 18 matches on Sept. 15. The first matches are scheduled for 8 a.m. and the final two at 1:50 p.m.

The competitors are Academy of the Sacred Heart, Archbishop Chapelle, Archbishop Hannan, Ascension Catholic, Cabrini, De La Salle, Notre Dame, Pope John Paul II, St. Katharine Drexel Prep, St. Scholastica, St. Thomas More and the co-hosts, Dominican and Ursuline.

Pope John Paul II enters as a four-time state champion. The Jaguars defeated Notre Dame, 3-0, for the 2017 title.

They are scheduled to play Drexel Prep at 5:10 p.m. and Chapelle  at 7:30 on Sept. 14, and St. Thomas More on Sept. 15 at 1:50 p.m.

Hannan enters the tournament as a Division IV semifinalist last season. The Lady Hawks meet Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. and St. Thomas More at 6:20 p.m. on Sept. 14, and have back-to-back matches against St. Scholastica and Cabrini on Sept. 15 (9:10 and 10:20 a.m.) 

Hannan was also the runner-up in the 2015 and 2016 state tournaments.

Cabrini comes in as the 2017 Division II runner-up. The Crescents’ first match is against De La Salle at 4 p.m. They next play Ascension Catholic at 7:30 p.m.