St. Michael asserts itself in fifth set vs. Ascension Catholic – The Advocate

St. Michael the Archangel got off to a fast start in the fifth set to take a 3-2 victory in volleyball over visiting Ascension Catholic on Tuesday.

The Warriors led 5-0 and 10-4 in the fifth set before taking a 15-7 win. St. Michael (10-5) prevailed 18-25, 25-16, 25-15, 23-25 and 15-7.

Ascension Catholic (9-14) had its own fast start in the first set, going up 10 points to gain an early advantage.

"We didn't play well in the first match," St. Michael coach Robert Smith said. "We've started slow a lot this year, and we've been up and down. I challenged the girls to play with energy, and we got it righted in the second set. Ascension Catholic is tough and did a good job of digging balls and making us earn it. I'm glad we got the W."

Ascension Catholic's Allie Griffin fired a serve that hit the net and dropped for an ace to cut the St. Michael lead to 11-7 in the second set. St. Michael went on a 7-2 run to pull ahead 18-9 on a cross-court shot by Julia Coffey.

The fourth set was the most competitive with the teams switching leads 12 times. St. Michael led 6-4. The Bulldogs scored three straight. St. Michael led 22-20.Ascension Catholic pulled ahead 23-22 with Karlie Chaney serving, but St. Michael tied it at 23-23.Ascension Catholic scored the next two points for the 25-23 win.

"We lost that fourth set and had a chance to win," Smith said. "Some teams give up in that situation and can't find momentum. We walked on the court for the fifth set, and it was like the fourth set never happened. I found out some things about my team in that fifth set."

Mindy Jones (eight kills, two blocks), Coffey (nine kills, two blocks) and Audrey Doming (six kills, four blocks) provided the power for the Warriors. Julianna Ghetti directed the offense with 31 assists and added 12 digs.

Ascension Catholicwas led by Katie Brooks (10 kills, four blocks), Allie Griffin (nine kills), Emmie Lambert (28 digs) and Chaney (22 assists).

"I'm proud of the girls for going five sets, but we didn't play our best,"Ascension Catholiccoach Janelle Leonard said. "We didn't adjust to the tips. St. Michael was taller and more physical than us. We played a number of freshmen tonight. We lost a lot of players from our semifinal team last year.

"We need to work on our passing and communication."

St. Michael opens district play Thursday at 5 p.m. at Belaire. Smith said he will challenge his team to keep improving.

"We've got a lot of ground we need to cover and clean up," Smith said. "We blocked OK tonight, but we need to touch more balls at the net. Starting district is like a new beginning to the season. We need to treat it as such. We've got some good teams in district like Brusly and West Feliciana."

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St. Michael asserts itself in fifth set vs. Ascension Catholic - The Advocate