Complete recap from Day 2 at the Pontchartrain Center

5:05 p.m. UPDATE- FINAL
A Day's Review
The New Orleans area will have a chance to win five state championships on Saturday when the LHSAA volleyball tournament finishes up with the championship round at the Pontchartrain Center.

Of course, the area also could come away with a goose egg. Northlake Christian will represent the area in Division V, Newman in Division IV, E.D. White in Division III, Cabrini in Division II and Mount Carmel in Division I.

The chances of New Orleans going o'fer are pretty minimal, though. You've got to think that at least one team will win.

Here's my take:
Diviosn I, 7 p.m. -- Mount Carmel vs. St. Joseph's is a toss up. The teams have split this year. Mount Carmel played some brilliant volleyball Friday to get to the finals. St. Joe's pulled out a shocker Thursday, coming from two games down against Dominican. Both teams are on a roll.

Division II, 5 p.m. -- Cabrini rolled through the semis Sam Houston. In fact, the Crescents have yet to be tested in the postseason. Then again, neither has St. Michael. Cabrini has a good shot.

Divison III 3 p.m. -- E.D. White is playing well, but is coming off of a taxing match against Ursuline. Notre Dame had an easier than expected match against Ben Franklin. White has been in the finals before -- this is its fifth-straight trip, though it hasn't won one. Notre Dame hasn't been to the finals since 1998.

Division IV, 1 p.m. -- Newman seems to be on a mission. No disrespect to McGehee - whom Newman beat in the semis - but the Greenies have bulldozed over all of its opponents.

Division V, 11 a.m. -- Northlake Christian took out the top seed Ascension Catholic to make it to the finals. The reward? A rematch with Episcopal of Acadiana, which beat the Wolverines a year ago in the state tournament.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Fontainebleau took out the No. 4 and 5 seeds on its way into the Division I semifinals. Friday, it couldn't match the No. 1 seed.

Mount Carmel continued its run to defend its state championship with another impressive victory, this time a 25-12, 25-19, 25-25 win over the Bulldogs.

The Cubs (36-2) now return to the state finals, where it will meet rival St. Joseph's on Saturday at 7 p.m.

"We have five returning players that have been to a state championship before," Mount Carmel head coach April Hagadone said. "They know what it feels like."

"Mount Carmel is a very good team," Fontainebleau coach Danny Tullis said. "As good as or better than I've seen them all year."

The Bulldogs (28-9) didn't help themselves, committing unforced error after unforced error. "Every time we'd get it down to two or three points, we'd serve it out of bounds or do something silly," Tullis said.

Friday's match was the first time since bi-district play that Mount Carmel hasn't dropped a game in a match. That's good timing to be playing so well considering that one of the Cubs' two losses came against St. Joe's during the regular season.

"We're on a mission," Hagadone said. "It's hard to win back-to-back championships. Last year, we were under the radar a little bit. Now we're the No. 1 seed."

Caitlin Clarke led Mount Carmel with 17 kills, and Emily Mesa added 10 blocks. Also for the Cubs, Brittany Fields had 4 aces, Kaylynn Genemaras had 14 assists and Emily Pepperman had 12 digs.

For Fontainebleau, Stephanie Bettencourtt, had 10 kills and one ace; Lindsey Barron had nine kills and 10 digs; Michelle Cabaceiras had 24 assists; Caitlyn Auxilien had 11 digs; and both Jessica Guttierrez and Uzunma Udeh each had four blocks.

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Ben Franklin came up short in its bid for a Division III state championship, falling 25-23, 25-22, 25-18 to Notre Dame. The Falcons end the year 33-8.

"We were prepared," Ben Franklin coach Jodee Pulizzano said. "We watched film on them. We knew what we had to do to win and we didn't do anything we were told."

With six seniors on the court, that shouldn't have been a problem for Ben Franklin.

"When you've got six seniors on the court, they think they know everything," Pulizzano said. "We knew where the tips were or where it was open. We always had an excuse. Just do it."

The second game might have decided the match. Several rallies went more than 10 touches deep. And nearly every one of those long rallies ended with a Notre Dame point.

"They won the big rallies," Pulizzano said. "It takes the wind right out of your sails, definitely. You've got to win the big rallies."

Kylie Contreary led the Falcons with 17 kills and four blocks, Adrienne Borchardt added three aces and 40 assists, and Melissa Cochran had 40 digs.

3:45 p.m. UPDATE
Ursuline's Marta Bott stood in the back hallways of the Pontchartrain Center, a blank stare on her face. Mary Cavell, on the other hand, sat on the E.D. White bench, a smile plastered on her face.

The Cardinals found a way to win, even after giving up a late game four lead, and moved into the Division III finals Saturday at 3 p.m. with a 25-14, 22-25, 25-15, 24-26, 15-11 win over Ursuline.

"That fourth game was a killer. I can't believe we lost," Cavell said. "I told them whoever can get out there (in the fifth game) and get the lead quickest will get the win."

And that's what happened. It went back and forth for the first 20 points. Then, tied at 10, E.D. White (31-9) rolled off three straight points. It was the first time either team led by more than one point all game.

Ursuline cut it to 13-11, but White finished the match off to make their fifth straight appearnce in the finals. The Cardinals have yet to win a championship, however.

"They gave everything they had," Ursuline coach Marta Bott said. "E.D. White did a great job. It was a great experience. I couldn't have asked for anything else from the girls."

The fifth and deciding game was especially tough for Bott, whose team had gained momentum after the fourth game.

"We knew it was going to be close, and we certainly had the confidence to win it," she said. "We just came up short. It would have gone either way."

For White, the win is the type that can propel a team to a state championship. That's exactly what Cavell is hoping for.

"The girls know how to compete and that's going to play a factor tomorrow," Cavell said.

Kathryn Stock led the Cardinals with 20 kills, 10 blocks, five aces and 10 digs. Hailey Silverii added 10 kills, seven blocks and five aces for E.D. White, which also had Jessica Politz contribute 41 assists and Carolina Bechtel had 22 digs.

For Ursuline (24-14), Theresa Plaisance led with 26 kills and three blocks, while Iman Hamilton recorded three blocks and two aces. Brooke Moss added 47 assists, while Courtney Ancar had 23 digs.

2:51 p.m. UPDATE
There was a time this season when Greg Castillo wasn't sure if his Cabrini club was going to pull through. It lost and won with no consistency, and a promising season could have floundered.

"At practice, I put a lot of pressure on them," Castillo said. "They got upset at me, but I told them it's to make them mentally tough."

Friday, that theory and practice paid off. Cabrini trailed in both games two and three, but pulled off the victory over Sam Houston 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 to move into the Division II finals Saturday at 5 p.m.

"We had several matches this year where were down by a lot and came back," Castillo said. "I told the girls that these games would help at state. It's showing now. They stayed calm and cool and we came back."

Defense is what paid off for Cabrini (27-15). Kayla McGee led with five blocks, while Angela Calico added 25 digs.

Also for Cabrini, Kasey Laird had 14 kills, Taylor Ziegler had 14 assists and Alexis Robicheaux had four aces.

"We had the offense, we had the defense," Castillo said. "We had the defense behind to pick up balls. We just can't beat ourselves."

2:15 p.m. UPDATE
Eight points separated Curtis from a berth into the Division IV finals just days after tragedy found its way to campus.

Baton Rouge's University High sent Curtis packing 25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 23-25, 15-7 four days after a Curtis student committed suicide on campus.

Acting headmaster J.T. Curtis thought "everybody would be better as a family," Curtis head coach Dawn Curtis said. Friday it showed. Curtis' fans came out in force, cheering loudly for every point.

And when Curtis came back from a two-game deficit to force a fifth game, it appeared fate would be on the Patriots' side. Alas, it wasn't.

"I didn't think it would be automatic," Curtis said. "The advantage for University was height. We had to pay better defense at the end, had to dig balls. We struggled a little bit with service and sever reception."

Lacey Huxen led Curtis with 14 kills, five blocks and two aces, while Lindsey Scallan added 29 assists, Sarah Scaruffi had 19 digs and both Amy Dusaules and Alison Grabert had two aces.

1:40 p.m. UPDATE
Newman earned a berth in the Division IV state finals Friday with a 25-9, 25-18, 25-15 win over New Orleans rival McGehee . And though the Greenies (40-3) breezed through in the opening game, head coach Colleen Loerzel knew her team wouldn't sail through the rest of the match.

"Every game is a tough game against McGehee," she said. "We match up well against each other."

The senior-laden team wasn't going to go down for the first time all season to McGehee (24-14) -- Newman beat the Hawks twice this season in district play.

And now those same seniors get a chance to win Newman's first state championship since winning the Division III title in 2004.

"Newman played extremely well," McGehee head coach Val Whitfield-Dunn said. "They were working on all cylinders. They're a great team stacked with a lot of seniors."

McKell Favrot helped pace Newman in the win, recording 12 kills. But it was a team effort for the Greenies. Taylor Warshauer had four aces and 26 assists, Rhegan Wollerman had 20 digs, and Taylor Rees and Krystal Chigbu both had one block.

Now, one match stands between Newman and the state championship. Loerzel knew her team would be special before the season, she just wasn't sure how special.

"We knew we had tremendous potential," she said. "It was just a matter of maximizing it."

Mattie Cannon led McGehee with 27 digs and three aces, Patrice Hightower had 12 assists, Ayanna Harley added four blocks and both Sam Tillery and Kendall Fritchie had eight kills.

"I'm very proud of them," Dunn said. "Losing five seniors from last year, no one expeted us to have a 20-win season, and we did."

1:10 p.m. UPDATE
Julie Ibieta knew her Country Day team had a tough task in front of it Friday.

It turned out to be too tough. Defending state champion Episcopal of Acadiana beat the Cajuns 25-20, 25-18, 27-25.

"I think my team came out and did a great job," Ibieta said. "I'm very proud of them. They just played better than us."

Country Day's season finishes at 27-8.

"They're the defending state champions. We played as well as we could play," Ibieta said. "It just was not our year."

Maddy Jansen did all she could to help will Country Day to within three games of a state finals berth. She finished the semis with a team-high 18 kills, five blocks and two aces. Taylor Fallon added 31 assists and Katherine Broussard had 20 digs.

"This team has done a great job all season," Ibieta said. "We're trying to build to where we can get to this level every year."

12:15 p.m. UPDATE
Call it an upset if you want, but No. 5 seed Northlake Christian has been here before. The Wolverines took out No. 1 seed Ascension Catholic 26-24, 25-12, 22-25, 25-22 to reach their second finals in three years.

"Even though we're a young team -- sophomore oriented -- they've been here before," Northlake head coach Michelle Anderson said. "We have experience."

A year after falling in the semifinals to Episcopal of Acadiana, the Wolverines (27-10) made sure not to finish in the same round again. A close back and forth first game gave way to a smooth second game.

But in the third game, Northlake couldn't quite put the match away. Ascension (27-10) took it, pushing the match to a fourth game. And for awhile, it appeared the top seed would end up prevailing.

It took a 21-17 lead and looked like it would have no trouble closing out Northlake to force a fifth and deciding game. But the Wolverines had other plans. Hannah Miller won seven straight service points to give Northlake match point at 24-21. A serve into the net on her eighth point only delayed the inevitable.

"That's something we struggled with all year," Anderson said. "We have that tendency when we get down to not know how to relax and play one point at a time.

"What's bigger than the win was that we can be behind five or sixt points and still win a game."

Northlake will play the winner of the Episcopal of Acadiana-Country Day match, which is going on now, Saturday at 11 a.m.

For Northlake, Mallory Horridge had 16 kills and 31 assists; Hannah Miranda had three aces, 35 assists and 17 digs; and Brittany Scearce had 11 kills and seven blocks.

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First of all, I've got to give a tip of the ol' hat to the St. Joseph's fans. I've heard of tailgating before, even participated. But I've never seen tailgating for high school volleyball. And they were doing it in the P-Center parking lot before 10 a.m. They don't play until 3:15 p.m. That's dedication.