CCHS advances to 2nd round with sweep of West St. John

The Central Catholic Lady Eagles overcame what head coach Latashia Wise termed as complacency and nerves to defeat West St. John 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-19) in the first-round of the Division V volleyball playoffs Wednesday.
While the Lady Eagles took the second game easily, head coach Latashia Wise said jitters and complacency struck her team in the first set and complacency came back in the third set as West St. John staged a rally to cut into the Lady Eagles’ lead before the homestanding team pulled out a win.
“A win is a win. … Obviously, for this team, that’s great,” Wise said. “We’re going to the second round of the playoffs. In the beginning of the season, we (weren’t) even expecting to make the playoffs or win district. A win is a win. It wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take it. It’s very important for these girls to realize that they haven’t been here before, so they really don’t know what to expect, but it’s very important for them to realize that every game into the playoffs is more and more crucial. … You don’t go into a playoff game thinking that it’s going to be the same thing that you saw in your season or in preseason. Everybody (brings) their best game. Hats off to West St. John. I think they played us very, very well. I enjoyed watching them play tonight.”
Central Catholic and West St. John competed in District 6-V together this season, and the Lady Eagles picked up the season sweep against West St. John — in three games both matches — en route to an undefeated district season.
In addition to nerves, Wise said her team may have thought the game would go the same way the last two did.
“That didn’t happen,” Wise said. “West St. John brought their best game tonight.”
Central Catholic now will travel to face Ascension Catholic Monday at 6 p.m. Ascension Catholic, the No. 7 seed, received a first-round bye.
In the first set Wednesday, Central Catholic and West St. John played a fairly close game with multiple ties and lead changes.
Late in the set, West St. John appeared poised to take it, rallying from as much as a 17-11 lead to take a 19-18 lead on a Central Catholic hitting error.
West St. John extended its lead to up to 23-21 before Central Catholic rallied for the game’s final four points via two West St. John errors, an ace by Emma Aucoin and a kill by Hallie Autin.
In the second set, Central Catholic (20-20) never was threatened, jumping out quick and cruising to the 25-7 win.
In the third set, the Lady Eagles appeared to be pulling away, taking out to as much as a 14-8 lead and later a 17-11 advantage.
However, West St. John (12-7) stormed back to cut its deficit to as little as 18-16 and later 20-19.
However, the Lady Eagles ended the game on a 5-0 run that included a kill Quincee Wiggins and an ace by Autin.
Kaitlyn Gros led the Lady Eagles with eight kills, 26 assists and 10 digs, while Hallie Autin had 12 kills and Brittany Longman, 11 kills.
Other top contributors included Emma Aucoin, 10 digs; and Rebecca David, five blocks.
Dmyriah Herbert led West St. John with four kills, while Kaieonne Sorapuru had two aces and one block and Brittany August, two aces.