Cubs came close, but couldn’t keep title streak alive

    For the first time in a decade, the Archdiocese of New Orleans failed to produce a volleyball champion last weekend.
    Seven area Catholic schools qualified in four divisions for the state tournament, held Nov. 14-16 at the Pontchartrain Center. Mount Carmel was the lone team to advance to the championship round  but lost the Division I title match to St. Joseph after five heart-pounding games.
    St. Scholastica and Archbishop Chapelle won their quarterfinal round matches but were eliminated in the semifinals.
    Pope John Paul, Academy of the Sacred Heart, Ursuline and Cabrini went out on opening day.
    The last time a local Catholic school failed to win a volleyball championship was in 2003. Dominican was Division I runner-up to St. Joseph that year.
    Three schools, which have combined for 19 state titles,  experienced rebuilding years.
    Thirteen-time Division II and III champion Sacred Heart, three-time Division III titlist Ursuline, and three-time Division II winner Cabrini brought young teams to the state tournament. They all fell victim to much improved opposition.
Cubs nearly made it
    During the regular season, Mount Carmel lost to St. Joseph twice in three matches  but handed the Redstickers the only blemish on their record in a third match.  En route to another confrontation, they breezed past their competition.
    St. Joseph did not lose a game until the final round, while Mount Carmel dropped the first of four games to Barbe in the quarterfinals before storming back.
    The Cubs then defeated their Catholic League rival Archbishop Chapelle in three games. Chapelle had greatly improved over the past three years, but although they finished with a fine 40-6 record,  the Chipmunks failed to win any of the nine games they played against the Cubs.
    As the championship match began between the two Division I top seeds, the Pontchartrain Center was rocking. St. Joe (44-1) was seeking its 10th championship and Mount Carmel (44-4) its ninth.
    Mount Carmel surprised the Baton Rouge powerhouse by winning the first game, 25-23.   
    But St. Joseph rallied to win the next two games, 25-23, 25-17. Then just when it looked like the Cubs’ energy was depleted, they put forth their best game to reverse the 25-17 score on their opponent.        
    The outcome was decided in a tiebreaker, that St. Joseph pulled out, 15-11, over the defending champion Cubs.
    In defeat came outstanding performances. Katie Kampen, clearly the best player in the entire tournament in our opinion, recorded 23 kills. Teammates Megan Davenport blocked 11 shots and Jillian Clark had 21 assists and four aces. The three juniors and sophomore Kristen Nuss will make up the nucleus of the 2014-15 team that should make another run at the title.
    The new season also will return super sophs Elie Silva of Sacred Heart, Rakell Spencer of Cabrini, Kayla Jones of Chapelle and Jessica Lucio of St. Scholastica, along with juniors Kayla Celestine of Cabrini, Christina Cutera of Pope John Paul II and Emily Frischhertz of Sacred Heart.
    Ron Brocato can be reached at rbrocato@clarionherald.org.