District play a time to get serious

    The “Big 3” in District 6-5A are all on track for high seeds in the state volleyball playoffs. But that is the last thing on their minds this week.
    Mount Carmel entered the week with a perfect 20-0 record and the top seed.
    Dominican has a 12-4 record and the No. 6 seed in Division I.
    The rankings are nice, but the players for both teams are focused on each other as Dominican visits archrival Mount Carmel on Oct. 9 for the first of two matches they hope will decide the district championship.
    But Coach Jennifer Gandolph’s Archbishop Chapelle team may elbow its way into the championship mix.
    The Chipmunks’ began the week with a 10-7 record, but a five-game victory over defending Division III champion Ursuline Academy last week has enabled Chapelle to gain a No. 11 seed in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s latest power rankings.
    Chapelle has lost to both in non-district play, but has scheduled a difficult pre-district slate of opponents.
Others to watch
     Breaux Bridge (20-3) is the top seed in Division II but has played just one quality team in Central Catholic of Morgan City, and lost.
    Locally, Cabrini (8-5) and St. Scholastica (13-7) are the  Nos. 2 and 3 seeds. And both have played competitive schedules over the first half of the season.
    St. Scholastica is the only team in District 5-4A with a winning record. The Doves’ opponents are Salmen (7-7), Pearl River (6-7) and Hammond (5-5), and all are low seeds.
     Cabrini entered the week with a 2-0 district mark and is clearly the favorite.
    Coach Jay Jay Juan’s Ursuline Lions have worked through a difficult 14-game schedule in which the Lions have won eight. But their current No. 8 seed should climb higher as the Lions are expected to once again sweep their district (8-3A).
    De La Salle (11-3) is the No. 2 seed in Division IV, a fraction behind John Curtis (12-5).
    Coach Jessica Helgeson’s Lady Cavaliers dropped a district match to Newman (13-2), the No. 5 seed, but will have an opportunity to square the record with the Greenies when they meet again on Oct. 16 at De La Salle.
    Archbishop Hannan (6-9) is the No. 17 seed in Division V, but is coached by a proven winner in Bekki Bonnaffee.