Parish volleyball players make All-District 3 team

It was another highly-successful season of high-school volleyball in Ascension Parish as five of the six teams in the area reached the playoffs.

That included both squads in Division V. Ascension Catholic and Ascension Christian are not only in the same division, but they both share the same district as well.

And as expected, the All-District 3 team was filled top to bottom with players from both schools. There were 14 parish selections in total.

Ascension Catholic led the way with eight players on the all-district team, and Ascension Christian wasn’t far behind with six.

The Lady Bulldogs had another tremendous season under head coach Janelle Leonard. Again, Ascension Catholic dominated the district.

The Lady Bulldogs headed into the Division-V playoffs as the No. 9 seed on the strength of wining their fourth straight district championship in 2021. In fact, they went undefeated in league play.

Ascension Catholic has now won 12 straight district games. The Lady Bulldogs have not lost a league contest since they fell to St. John on Sept. 22 of last year.

In the last four seasons, Ascension Catholic is an amazing 29-1 in district matches.

The Lady Bulldogs pulled off a sweep of No. 24 Houma Christian in the opening round of the playoffs. They won by scores of 25-10, 25-10 and 25-21.

With the victory, Ascension Catholic advanced to the second round of the playoffs. The Lady Bulldogs then traveled to eighth-seeded Highland Baptist.

Highland Baptist went 19-21 during the regular season and swept False River in the opening round of the playoffs.

However, the Lady Bulldogs’ quest to reach the state tournament three years in a row came to an end. They were eliminated after a four-set loss.

Ascension Catholic took the first set, 25-22, but the Lady Bulldogs lost the next three by scores of 25-22, 26-24 and 27-25.

Ascension Catholic’s season ended with an overall record of 15-17.

Leonard was named the District 3 Coach of the Year.

Also, junior Katelyn Brooks was named the league’s Offensive MVP, and junior Emmie Lambert was named the Defensive MVP.

Joining Brooks and Lambert on the all-district first team were sophomores Karlie Chaney and Allie Griffin.

Ascension Catholic’s second-team selections were seniors Ella Lemann and Madisyn Cassard and freshman Ava Bright.

Also, Katie Marroy was an honorable-mention selection for the Lady Bulldogs.

Ascension Christian also made a run to the playoffs this past year. The Lady Lions went 8-12 during the regular season and earned the No. 18 seed.

Unfortunately for the Lady Lions, they were eliminated after a three-set road loss against No. 15 St. John. Ascension Christian lost by scores of 25-13, 25-19 and 25-8. 

It was the third time the Lady Lions lost to district rival St. John during the season.

Ascension Christian had two first-team all-district selections. They were Noelle Laiche and CJ Raven.

Making the second team were Melanie Jones and sophomore Ava Crifasi.

Finally, Ascension Christian had two honorable-mention selections in Gabrielle Hudson and Maddie Walters.