Ascension Episcopal ends Central Catholic's playoff run

The No. 10 Central Catholic Lady Eagles volleyball team’s impressive postseason run came to an end Thursday as the squad fell to the No. 2 seed Ascension Episcopal Blue Gators in the Division V quarterfinals at the Allstate Sugar Bowl/Louisiana High School Athletic Association State Volleyball Tournament at the Pontchartrain Center.
The Lady Eagles fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 28-26) to conclude their season with a 21-20 mark.
Central Catholic head coach Latashia Wise said she thought the match was a good one for her team.
She noted the squad had jitters early with a young team and some haven’t been to the Pontchartrain Center but she said they later settled in, as evident by their third game in which she said, “We came to play a little bit.”
“Overall, I think we did a really good job,” Wise said. “I’m proud of them. I’m proud of them for having their goal and getting here, reaching their goal. I’m very proud of this very young team.”
Ascension Episcopal (26-10) returned to action today in the Division V semifinals where it faced Academy of Sacred Heart — Grand Coteau today at 10 a.m.
In game 1, Central Catholic’s only lead came on the first serve of the game via an ace by Kaitlyn Gros.
While the Lady Eagles trailed for the majority of the game, they hung tough with Ascension Episcopal for the first part of the contest.
After Katie Hoffpauir’s ace cut the Lady Eagles’ deficit to 8-7, however, Ascension Episcopal used a kill, an ace by eighth-grade standout Addie Vidrine, a Central Catholic error and a block to extend its lead to 12-7.
Central Catholic cut its deficit to 12-9 again on an Ascension Episcopal hitting error before the Blue Gators reeled off the next four points for a 16-9 advantage and soon after pulled away for the 25-16 win.
In game two, Central Catholic had a rough start as Ascension Episcopal feasted on Central Catholic errors, while making plays of its own for an 11-0 lead after a kill by Sara Wortman.
Central Catholic finally broke its scoreless streak when Ascension Episcopal couldn’t handle a hit by Hallie Autin.
The Lady Eagles reeled off the next four points to cut its deficit to 11-5 on an Ascension Episcopal hitting error.
However, the Blue Gators went on an 11-5 run to take as much as a 22-10 lead on the way to the victory.
Game 3 was much more competitive throughout as its featured 17 ties with neither team taking more than the four-point advantage Central Catholic did at 16-12 following a hitting error by Ascension Episcopal.
However, the Blue Gators came back using three kills by Vidrine along with a double hit by Central Catholic to tie the game at 16.
Central Catholic soon after took a 19-17 lead on an ace by Hoffpauir, but Ascension Episcopal came back and tied the contest at 19 all on an ace by Vidrine.
From there, the contest went back and forth as Central Catholic served at match point twice and Ascension Episcopal did so once before finally taking the match on a kill by Vidrine for the 28-26 victory.
Wise said errors by her young team hurt them in the third set.
“In the third set, I think they started believing a little bit that it’s possible, and we had some errors in the third set,” she said. “We easily could have won the third set. The third set to me could have went either way, but we had some errors.”
Quincee Wiggins led the Lady Eagles with 14 kills, while Brittany Longman added six kills. Kaitlyn Gros had three aces and 13 assists, while Emma
Aucoin had 10 digs; Hoffpauir, three aces; and Rebecca David and Lindsee Case, each with a block.
Vidrine led Ascension Episcopal with 19 kills, two aces and 13 digs.
Other top contributors included Sydney Vidrine, 22 assists; Mary Catherine Frangues, 20 digs; Wortman, seven kills; and Carolina Cordova, six assists.
While the Lady Eagles kept alive a streak of appearances in the Pontchartrain Center, with such a young team, advancing to a fifth straight semifinals was never mentioned as a goal.
In fact, getting to the Pontchartrain Center was a long goal all year and one that the team achieved with an upset victory against No. 7 seed Ascension Catholic in the second round of the postseason.
Looking towards the future, Wise said it is a bright one.
“The future is very bright for our Central Catholic volleyball program,” she said. “We have a lot of young kids.”
Wise singled out seventh-grader Katie Hoffpauir and freshman Quincee Wiggins for their play during the game.
“I’m looking forward to coming back again,” she said. “I’m looking forward to this team being in the Pontchartrain Center for the next couple years.”
Wise lauded seniors Brittany Longman and Kaitlyn Gros for their leadership this year.
“I give so much credit to Brittany and Kaitlyn for the leadership that they exhibited for this team this year,” she said. “They have led this team beyond measure. Nobody would ever know the leadership, the heartache, the amount of work that Brittany and Kaitlyn (have) put in this year. … They just had a tremendous impact on this ball club for us this year.”