CCHS wins in four games

The Central Catholic Lady Eagles knocked off the Ascension Christian Lions 3-1 (27-25, 19-25, 25-13, 25-15) in first-round Division V playoff action Thursday in Morgan City.
Central Catholic coach Latashia Wise said the Eagles are a young team playing three eighth-graders, two freshmen, two sophomores and one senior.
With Thursday’s game the opening round of the playoffs, the Lady Eagles started with “playoff jitters,” Wise said.
“We didn’t settle down early in the game,” Wise said. The second game “got away from us” and Central Catholic didn’t receive serves well, Wise said.
“All our young mistakes caught up with us from all season,” Wise said. Ascension Christian played “superb” defense, and it wasn’t easy to get a kill against them, Wise said.
The mistakes the Lady Eagles made in the first couple games had a lot to with how well Ascension Christian played, Wise said.
Many of the errors Central Catholic made were mental ones, Wise said.
In the third and fourth games, things started to click, Wise said. The Eagles realized they were in the playoffs, and it was “time for us to start playing,” Wise said.
Wise said she tried to stress to her team all week that anything can happen in the playoffs, and it doesn’t matter what seed a team is.
“Once again, being a young team, I don’t think they quite believe me until they find themselves in a 1-1 match having to fight,” Wise said.
One thing the Eagles did do well Thursday was serve, Wise said.
Hallie Autin led the Lady Eagles with seven kills, two aces and six digs.
Other top contributors included Quincee Wiggins, 16 digs; Brooke Lipari, 14 digs; Katie Hoffpauir, eight assists and two aces; and Taylor Picou, four assists and two aces.
Central Catholic will continue playoff action Monday when they travel to face No. 3 seed Ascension Episcopal at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Eagles and the Blue Gators met in the Division V quarterfinals a year ago, with the Blue Gators sweeping them on their way to a state runner-up finish.
“We’ll have to play a whole lot better to compete,” Wise said. The Eagles will “have to serve the ball a whole lot tougher, and we’re going to have to serve receive,” Wise said.
Ascension Christian coach Holly Jennings said her team is also young with a freshman and two sophomores starting.
Ascension Christian had “nothing to lose” coming into Thursday’s bi-district playoff game, Jennings said.
They had “a great season,” while having to adjust due to injuries. The team went 6-0 to win its district this season, “and I couldn’t be more proud,” Jennings said.