This is my first LHSAA volleyball tournament. One immediate thought comes to mind -- it's a crazy, wild couple of days of volleyball. It wasn't more exciting than the night session, when Ben Franklin, Mount Carmel and Dominican were going at the same time.

Franklin won easily, Mount Carmel made things more interesting than it should have and Dominican fell apart some point between the second and third games.

Newman looked good, as did Fontainebleau. McGehee came through with a big win over Pope John Paul II. And Ursulines beat De La Salle in a spirited match, its third win over the Cavaliers this year.

Anyway, I look forward to helping y'all out again with some healthy doses of recaps.

Here's the schedule for local teams. Full briefs are below that from all the day's action.

10 a.m.: Northlake Christian vs. Ascension Catholic

11:45 a.m.: John Curtis vs. University; Newman vs. McGehee ; Country Day vs. Episcopal of Acadiana

1:30 p.m.: Ursuline vs. E.D. White ; Cabrini vs. Sam Houston

3:15 p.m.: Mount Carmel vs. Fontainebleau ; Notre Dame vs. Ben Franklin

Comment? Questions? Find volleyball interesting? Comment below or email me at bhandwerger@wwltv.com

10:25 p.m. UPDATE -- FINAL FOR THE DAY
For two games, Dominican's players had life in their faces. And then St. Joseph's won the third game. And then St. Joseph's won the fourth game.

By the time the fifth game rolled around, Dominican appeared to have nothing left in its tank, letdown and trying to figure out what happened.

But when Dominican finally figured it out after a timeout, it was too late. St. Joseph's took a 15-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-16, 15-12 win over Dominican, ending the New Orleans school's season.

"We knew it was going to be a tough match. We knew it was going to go five games," said Dominican head coach Jessica Chatellier, whose team fell to 24-12. "We came out and did everything we needed to do in games one and two. Then momentum went down."

For Dominican, Amy Randazzo had 42 assists, while Taylor Reuther recorded 22 digs and four aces. Kelsey Castle added 18 kills and two blocks.

But according to Chatellier, this year's team accomplished more than most expected. "I had people tell me at the beginning that this is going to be a rebuilding year," Chatellier said. "And yet, we made it as far as we did last year."

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April Hagadone wasn't exactly sure what happened. Up two games to none in a Division I quarterfinal against Terrebonne, Hagadone's Mount Carmel team all of a sudden tightened up.

A team that had lost only two games all season was playing like it had never been in this position before.

But then Mount Carmel (35-2) did what the Cubs do best -- they played relaxed and inspired volleyball. And in so doing, Mount Carmel moved into the semifinals with a 25-11, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18 win.

"They got rattled for some strange reason," Hagadone said. "Why did we get rattled? We are the team to beat."

Caitlin Clarke led Mount Carmel with 21 kills, Emily Pepperman had 28 digs, Paige Gantar came up with 11 blocks, Ashlee Poolson added three aces and Kaylynn Genemaras finished with 22 assists.

But Hagadone isn't worried about the result. In fact, she's actually a little happy with it.

"It made us nervous," she said. "That's a good thing. Our backs were against the wall and we still came through."

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Ben Franklin decided that for an encore to its 3-2 comeback win Wednesday night, it would make things easier for its fans to digest. So, instead of a close match, the Falcons took care of business early and often, getting past Iota 25-18, 25-16, 25-12.

Ben Franklin (31-12) now plays No. 1 seed Notre Dame in the Division III semis at 3:15 p.m.

"It was nice for us to come out and relax and play," Ben Franklin coach Jodee Pulizzano said. "The kids were relaxed on the court, and that's how we need to play."

Adrienne Borchardt led the tea with 40 assists, while Melissa Cochran kept the ball in play with 45 digs. Ta'Ryan Lloyd added 14 kills and 10 blocks, and Kylie Contreary had five aces.

But now the Falcons must face Notre Dame, a team that's 32-8 heading into the Final Four. Ben Franklin fell in the semifinals a year ago, and Pulizzano doesn't want that to happen again.

"Every single player has to play tough and not let a ball hit the ground," Pulizzano said. Everybody has to have a good game."

8:30 p.m. UPDATE
A night after willing itself to a four-game victory over northshore rival St. Scholastica, Fontainebleau made things a little easier Thursday, beating Chalmette 25-16, 26-24, 25-20 to move into the Division I semis agaisnt the winner of the Mount Carmel-Terrebonne match.

"I thought five games, maybe four," said Fontainebleau head coach Danny Tullis, whose team improve to 28-8. "I thought it was going to be much, much a battle like it was (Wednesday) night."

When told he took care of business, Tullis gave all the credit to his team -- despite the fact that even up until mid-day, he was searching for Chalmette game film.

"The girls took care of business," Tullis said. "Chalmette plays incredible defense. They have good ball movement. I've said all year they play the game the way it is supposed to be played."

Michelle Cabeceiras led the Bulldogs with 44 assists. Lindsey Barron added 24 kills, Caitlyn Auxilien had 22 digs, Uzunma Udeh had nine blocks and Stephanie Bettencourtt had two aces, all for Fontainebleau.

Dana Martin's 32 kills and two blocks led Chalmette (37-7), which also had Haley Smith record 37 digs and Carley McInnis have 24 assists and four aces.

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For the third time this season, Ursuline got past De La Salle , this time 25-16, 25-18, 29-27 to move within one match of the Division III finals. Urusline (25-13) will play E.D. White Friday at 1:30 p.m.

"It's hard to beat anybody two times in a season," Ursuline head coach Marta Bott said. "They were coming to beat us."

Theresa Plaisance paced Ursuline with 12 kills, while fellow blocker Iman Hamilton added six blocks. That was the difference, Bott said.

"They put so much focus on Theresa, but we have so m any other weapons," Bott said.

The third and final game was as close as the score made it seem. De La Salle had its chances, but could never put the game in the bag.

"I don't know if we got complacent," Bott said. "They needed to get their head back in and push through the door. De La Salle did a great job of hanging in there."

Also for Ursuline, Daisy Miller had two aces, Brooke Moss had 27 assists, and both Courtney Ancar and Krystal Ciulla had 13 digs.

For De La Salle (23-12), while it lost in the quarterfinals, head coach Jessica Helgeson was happier with her team's play. A year ago, the Cavaliers were just happy to be here.

"The kids were out here last year, but they were like deer in headlights," Helgeson said. "I told them they had to go for it, they can't just keep balls in play. They went for if all of the time."

6:30 p.m. UPDATE
E.D. White swept its way into the the Division III semifinals with a 25-12, 25-17, 25-23 victory over St. Charles Catholic. This isn't new for White (30-9), however, as been to the past four finals, and five of the last seven. It didn't come away with any championships, however.

"We know it can be a tough road," White head coach Mary Cavell said. "I felt like we had a balanced attack and we showed it in the first and second games.

"We didn't play poorly in the third, they just dug everything."

Kathryn Stock paced White with 17 kills, nine blocks, three aces and 14 digs. Also for White, Halley Silverii had 15 kills and six blocks, while Jessica Politz had 33 assists.

For St. Charles (24-15), the season ends two matches short of a championship.

"It's a tough loss, especially for the seniors," head coach Brandy Ryan said. "We accomplished our goal of winning the district. We accomplished our goal or making it to the Pontchartrain Center."

For SCC, Brooke Becker came up with 12 digs; Courtney Western had 12 assists; Meg Gustafson had two aces; Katie Tregre had five kills; and Lauren Conglio had five blocks.

White plays the winner of the Ursulines-De La Salle match going on now.

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Sam Houston ended Karr's season with a 25-16, 23-25, 25-19, 25-22 win. Karr (24-11) was making its first appearance in the final eight since the state went to bi-district play.

The difference, Karr head coach Carolyn Patterson said, was defense.

"I didn't think the outside played well," she said. "I though they were a little afraid."

Fatima Garber led Karr with 11 assists, and Brittany Williams had seven digs and two aces. Also for the Cougars, Jesseka Jones had six blocks and Zipporah Washington had four kills.

5 p.m. UPDATE
Cabrini moved past Northside 25-12, 25-10, 25-7 to get into the Final Four for Division II. Cabrini (26-15) played incrementally better in each game to seal the win.

"You worry about the first game because it's in the Pontchartrain Center," Cabrini head coach Greg Castillo said. "We start two freshmen. You hope they play like they have been playing."

And they did, as did the rest of the team.

Kasey Laird led Cabrini with nine kills; Taylor Zeigler had five aces and 13 assists; Angela Calico had 11 digs; and Kayle McGee and Alexis Robicheaux each added two blocks.

"I have high expectations," Castillo said. "Every year I want to make it to the finals and win a championship."

Cabrini plays Sam Houston on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

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Newman sailed past Westminster 25-14, 25-15, 25-3 to get closer to its first Division IV final since winning it all in 2001.

"The score didn't reflect the fight that team put up," Newman head coach Colleen Loerzel said. "The were scrappy. They played great defense. We were focused from the beginning to the end of the match."

Rhegan Wollerman led the Greenies (38-3) with 19 digs; Lara Rushing added 17 assists; Krystal Chigbu had 11 kills and two blocks; and Brittany Goodman had five aces.

Newman now plays McGehee, a team it has beaten twice already this season, at 11:45 a.m. Friday.

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McGehee defeated No. 4 seed Pope John Paul II in four games, 25-18, 7-25, 25-14, 25-20.

"Pope John Paul is an excellent team. They hit well and their libero was fantastic," McGehee coach Val Whitfield-Dunn said. "We had to stay focused and we had difficulty with that."

She added, "We just try to come and play the best we can. At this time of year, all the teams are tough."

Sam Tillery led McGehee in kills with 26 and also had six blocks, while Patrice Hightower had 27 assists and 23 digs. Also for McGehee, Kendall Fritchie had five aces.

For Pope John Paul, the experience gained will help in the future. At 21-8, the team had one of the best years in school history.

"It was frustrating," Pope John Paul head coach Michael Waldon said. "We showed our style of play in the second game. The third and fourth game, we started out slow. We just kind of ran out of gas, but the girls kept fighting. They just came up short in the end."

For PJP, Katie Brandner led with nine kills and three blocks. Andria Dennis had 14 assists, and Amy Collins had one ace and 10 digs, also for PJP.

3:25 pm. UPDATE
Results
Country Day defeated Northside Christian 25-5, 25-22, 18-25, 25-21 to move into the Division semis. Margo Sanders led the team with 15 kills, and Maddy Jansen had two blocks. Taylor Falco added 37 assists and Lindsey Rosenblum had 23 digs.

Tied at 21 in the final game, Sanders and Jansen took over to finish the match. First, Sanders came through with a tap winner. Jansen then won three consecutive points for Country Day (26-7) to put it in the semis against Episcopal of Acadiana.

"We came out ready to play, like a ball of fire in the first two games," Country Day coach Julie Ibieta said. "They have a different style of play, and we had a problem adjusting."

But they did, and the team is one of the last four teams left. Ibieta said Thursday's challening match was good for the team.

"We were not challenged in our first-round match," she said. "We haven't really played in a week and a half."

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Ascension Catholic defeated St. Martin's 25-18, 25-19, 25-18 to move into the Division V semis against Northlake Christian. Amy Perkins led the Saints with nine kills while Libby Webber had 14 assists.

"They just played better," said St. Martin's head coach Linda Trevino, whose team ends the season at 20-16. "It was just not our day."

Trevino said she felt her team had a chance coming in, but it would have to play 100 percent. That didn't happen.

"I really did," Trevino said. "I knew what they had. If we played our best, it could have been a good 50-50 either way."

1:30 p.m. update
Results
Northlake Christian defeated Catholic-Pointe Coupee 25-12, 26-24, 25-10 to move into the Division V semifinals. Now 26-10, it'll play the winner of the Ascension Catholic-St. Martin's match, going on right now. For Northlake, Mallory Horridge had 13 kills, Brittany Scearce had three blocks, Hannah Miller had 27 digs and Hannad Miranda had 38 assists and three aces.

St. Michael's defeated Ellender 25-13, 25-18, 25-18 to move into the Division II semifinals. Ellender ends the season 28-7. Asia Williams led Ellender with nine kills and six blocks, while Ariel Bonvillain had eight assists and Kailie Leblanc had six digs.

Curtis defeated Riverside 25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 25-16 to move into the Division IV semifinals. Riverside's season ends at 36-4. Jessica Price led Riverside with 35 assists, Heidi Garcich had 41 digs and Marci Millet had 19 kills. For Curtis, Ashley Henderson had 20 kills, Lindsey Scallan had 35 assists and Lacey Huxen and Emily Chighizola both had 22 digs.

# One other note, days after the tragedy at John Curtis, students showed their school support for each other during Curtis' Division IV match against Riverside. The Patriots' backers were loud and proud and generally happy to be around. I'll have an update on the match in a little while.