Mt. Carmel rolling with tough matches ahead

   
    Brace yourselves. The District 6-I volleyball season is about to serve up championship action.
    Local volleyball fans received their first taste of the action on Sept. 9 when defending state champion Mount Carmel defeated District 6-I rival Archbishop Chapelle in three games.
    The victory over the much-improved Chipmunks marked MCA’s second in a run of victories over three of the state’s top teams – St. Joseph’s Academy, Notre Dame and Teurlings Catholic.
    Since then, the Cubs have added the Catholic League Volleyball Tournament title to their resumé for the fourth straight year.
    It appears that Mount Carmel, which entered the week with a 15-1 record, is well on its way to retaining its Division I state title.
    But the latest Louisiana High School Athletic association power rankings (as of Sept. 17) lists the Cubs at No. 4, behind District  6 rivals Chapelle (15-2) and Dominican (11-4), and non-district St. Joseph’s (11-1).
    Rankings mean little when the teams take to the court. Mount Carmel has already beaten two of the three teams it ranks behind and has archrival Dominican ticketed for a home match on Oct. 3 and away on Oct. 29.
And remember – Dominican handed the Cubs a bitter district loss last season.
    The district also includes public schools Chalmette, John Ehret, Higgins and Bonnabel, four schools with a combined win-loss record of 18-21.
    Chalmette (8-7) is the most competitive of the group. Ehret has a deceiving 3-2 record. Aside from its relative inactivity, Ehret’s losses came in district play, and the Patriots have yet to experience the power and skills of the big three.
    Chapelle has enjoyed the biggest turnaround. From a 22-16 team last season, coach Jennifer Gandolph has put together a team that ranks among the best in the state.
    The three-game defeat to MCA is indicative of the Cubs’ excellence midway through the season.
    But Chapelle will challenge Dominican and Mount Carmel for the top spot.
    Ashlee Smith, a former player at Dominican, has fashioned her team in the black-and-white tradition of playing outstanding defense, keeping the ball in play and letting the opponent make the mistake. And her team will need to maintain consistency if it plans to upset coach April Hagadone’s Cubs again this season.
    Among the other local Catholic schools, St. Scholastica (9-7) ranks fourth in Division II power points behind Ben Franklin, Lakeshore and Breaux Bridge.
    Academy of Our Lady (10-4) is ranked No. 8, ahead of Cabrini, but three-game losses to Ursuline and Cabrini are cause for concern.
    Typically a power in this division, Cabrini (3-4) is off to a slow start. However, head coach Greg Castillo has a penchant for having his team ready for district competition and post-season play.
    Ursuline Academy (9-4) last week was listed as the top school in the Division III power rankings, ahead of perennial powers Teurlings Catholic, E.D. White and St. Louis Catholic.
    Head coach Jay Jay Juan was not happy with the Lions’ performance in the Catholic League Tournament in which they lost three of five games.
    Three of the 2012 Division III champion’s losses were to division rivals Teurlings and E.D. White. Another was to Notre Dame, the top-ranked team in Division IV.
    Pope John Paul II (11-8) is the No. 10 ranked team in Division IV,  Sacred Heart (9-7) is No. 9 and Archbishop Hannan (7-11) ranks No. 11.
    St. Mary’s Academy and St. Charles Catholic are far down the power list but are likely to make the playoffs.
    (Catholic League Tournament photos at www.clarionherald.org.)

How they finished
Mount Carmel                   5-0
E.D. White                        4-1
Notre Dame                      4-1
St. Thomas More              4-1
Teurlings Catholic             4-1
Dominican                        3-2
Pope John Paul II             3-2
St. Louis                            3-2
Acad. Sacred Heart          2-3
St. Scholastica                  2-3
Ursuline Academy             2-3
Central Catholic                2-3
Vandebilt Catholic             2-3
Archbishop Hannan          0-5
De La Salle                       0-5
Catholic-Pointe Coupee    0-5