CCHS advances to semis after quarterfinal sweep

Central Catholic continued to impress this postseason as the squad swept Houma Christian 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-14) in the Division V quarterfinals at the Pontchartrain Center.
Traditionally, the teams have played to five games in recent matchups, including one earlier this year for the District 6-V championship.
However, Thursday at the Pontchartrain Center, Central Catholic, Division V’s No. 4 seed, took the game in three sets against No. 5 Houma Christian.
“We played very, very well as a team. … Everybody played their role, and we had Sydney Williams who came out and played extraordinary today. ... We came out with fire, and we had some bumps in the road with serve-receive, but overall we played tough at the net and we executed,” Central Catholic coach Latashia Wise said.
Williams, who stepped up for the Lady Eagles and finished the game with 10 kills, was the key to the win, Wise said.
“She did some things for us up at the net defensively blocking,” Wise said. “Her and Rebecca David both did. You expect Hallie Autin to do what she’s going to do, and Yani Johnson to do what she’s going to do. Our freshman setter, Katie Hoffpauir, she played well for us. She served the ball extremely well. I think it was a great team effort.”
With the win, Central Catholic advanced to play top seed Ascension Episcopal Friday morning in a 10 a.m. contest. Ascension Episcopal advanced after knocking off No. 9 Episcopal School of Acadiana 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16). The winner of the Central Catholic-Ascension Episcopal contest will meet the winner of the other semifinal between No. 2 Metairie Park Country Day and No. 3 McGehee Saturday at 9 a.m. for the state championship.
In game 1 Thursday, Central Catholic began to pull away about late in the set.
Ahead 18-15 after a block by Houma Christian’s Alicia Johnson, Central Catholic scored seven of the set’s next nine points for the 25-17 victory.
In game 2, Central Catholic vaulted ahead 9-1 early via a Hallie Autin kill.
While Houma Christian cut its deficit to 10-4 on a Central Catholic ball handing error, the Lady Eagles would jump ahead 12 points at 19-7 after a block, prompting a Houma Christian timeout.
Central Catholic took its largest lead of the set at 20-7 on an Autin kill.
While Houma Christian made a late run, Central Catholic took the set, 25-16.
Game 3 was much more competitive early.
While Houma Christian took a 9-6 lead early, Central Catholic went on a 7-0 run that included multiple kills by Williams for a 13-9 lead.
Later in the set, with Central Catholic ahead 18-14, the Lady Eagles closed the game with an impressive 7-0 run. The last six points included two kills by Williams, a Yani Johnson block and back-to-back aces by Autin to close the match.
Autin and Hoffpauir led Central Catholic. Autin had 14 kills and two aces, while Hoffpauir had four aces and 19 assists. Other top contributors included Johnson, nine kills and four blocks; Emma Aucoin, 14 digs; Taylor Picou, 13 assists; Brooke Lipari, 12 digs; and David, three blocks.
Dionjhae Thomas led Houma Christian with 10 kills and four blocks. Other top contributors included Jordan Moore, 12 assists; Cameron Beal, two aces and nine digs; Johnson, five kills and two blocks; and Madelyn Carlos, six digs.
In today’s contest against Ascension Episcopal, Central Catholic will face a team that has eliminated it from the postseason the past two years. In 2014, Ascension Episcopal knocked out Central Catholic in the Division V quarterfinals at the Pontchartrain Center, while in 2015, the Lady Eagles were denied a trip to the Pontchartrain Center when Ascension Episcopal defeated them in the regional round.
“Anything time you’re playing in a semifinal match, period, you have to come ready to play because it’s a different match, but as I told my girls, the number is just a number,” Wise said. “Whatever seed they are, whatever seed we are, it’s just a number. We got to come ready to play.”