Cubs repeat as tournament champs

Photo by Ron Brocato | CLARION HERALD
Senior Jonne Porter of De La Salle goes all out in an attempt to save the ball during the Lady Cavaliers’ first-round match against St. Scholastica in the Catholic Girls’ League Volleyball Tournament. De La Salle won the mini-match, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12. The Lady Cavs, who are the reigning Division III runners-up, won three of five matches and increased their record to 5-2.

    Mount Carmel’s sweep of the second Catholic Girls’ League Volleyball Tournament last week established the Cubs as a Division I championship contender.
    The Cubs did not lose a single game during match victories over the Academy of the Sacred Heart, E.D. White, St. Thomas More, Ursuline, St. Louis, Dominican and Notre Dame in the finals.
    Every opponent competed in the 2011 LHSAA divisional playoffs and most in the state  tournament.
    Mount Carmel, which defeated the reigning Division II champion Notre Dame, 25-17, 25-15, extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games.
    The loss was the Lady Pios’ second in 15 games and snapped a seven-match win streak.  
    Runner-up to Fontainebleau for the Division I championship last year, Coach April Hagadone’s Cubs have also beaten Fontainebleau (3-1) and Baton Rouge power St. Joseph’s  Academy (9-1). That defeat in the five-game match has been the Redstickers’ only loss of the season.
    Dominican, which had won nine of its first 10 matches before losing to Mount Carmel, 25-14, 25-21, defeated 2011 Division II runner-up St. Thomas More, 25-19, 25-23, in the consolation match.
    Before entering the tournament, Dominican (10-2) defeated Division II champion Cabrini in a three-game match.
    Tournament chairman Jay Jay Juan, head coach of Ursuline’s defending Division III titlists, said he hopes to sign  more local Catholic schools to the 2013 tournament. Most notably missing were Archbishop  Chapelle and Cabrini, which had previous commitments.
    Chapelle is off to a fast start, having won seven of its first 10 matches. Cabrini entered the week with a 4-2 record.
    The LHSAA championship tournament is scheduled for Nov. 8-10 at the Pontchartrain Center.