St. Amant and Ascension Christian fall

Both St. Amant and Ascension Christian advanced to Kenner for the State Volleyball Tournment, but neither team could get past the quarterfinals.

St. Amant's loss to tenth-seeded Northshore was the biggest surprise. Their early exit sent shock-waves throughout the tournament.

The Lady Gators had earned a No. 2 seed--the highest seeding in school history, and they blanked Dutchtown 3-0 to earn their spot in the quarterfinals.

They looked to be a shoe-in for the semifinals as they prepared for Northshore. Northshore was fresh off of an upset win over East Ascension in the regional round, but St. Amant had beaten them 2-0 in regular-season matchup just a few weeks earlier.

However, the Lady Panthers got off to a great start this time. They won a close opening set 25-21 and pulled away in the second 25-15 to take a two-set lead.

The Lady Gators fought off elimination in the third set as they collected a 25-17 win, but Northshore bounced back to win the fourth set 25-21. The win iced away the huge upset and advanced the Lady Panthers into the semifinals.

Toni Rodriguez and Brooke deVeer did their best to keep the Lady Gators alive. Rodriguez had 19 kills and two blocks while deVeer finished with 15 kills and four blocks of her own.

Despite the disappointing loss, the Lady Gators had quite a season. They finished the regular season 34-6 with a perfect district mark that earned them a district title.

The same can be said about Ascension Christian. The Lady Lions were blanked by eventual state champion MD Country Day, but their run this year made school history.

Ascension Christian finished the regular season with a solid mark of 17-9, won their district crown and made their first ever trip to the State Volleyball Tournament.