Central Catholic will host Ascension Christian

Entering their first-round playoff game against Ascension Christian Thursday, Central Catholic coach Latashia Wise said this season hasn’t been what she has expected.
While she returned a squad with experience from a year ago that advanced to the Division V quarterfinals, the team also is still one filled with youth.
A tough schedule featuring some highs and some lows has produced an 18-21 mark and a 4-2 District 6-V mark, good enough for a runner-up finish.
However, despite the adversity the squad has faced, Wise said her team, which heads into the playoffs on a two-game win streak, has played well the last four games of the season.
“We still have another shot,” Wise said. “We didn’t successfully win a district championship. We lost to a very talented Houma Christian team, but we’re where we need to be for the playoffs.”
While Central Catholic finished 2-1 in their final week of the season, the loss was in five sets to a top-10 team in Division 1 in East Ascension.
They bounced back with wins against district foe West St. John before closing the season with a win against another Division 1 top-10 team, H.L. Bourgeois, in five sets.
The week prior, the team fell in four sets to Houma Christian, which enters the postseason ranked No. 5 in Division V.
“Hopefully we have what it takes to enter into the playoffs and keep playing well,” Wise said.
Ascension Christian (9-14) enters Thursday’s contest as the District 5-V champion with a 6-0 mark in district and a 9-14 record overall.
The squad enters the playoffs on a five-game winning streak and hasn’t fallen in almost a month. Their last loss was to South Terrebonne on Oct. 10.
“They made the playoffs, so its playoff time and I’m a firm believer that anything can happen,” Wise said. “You never really know. You gotta come ready to play.”