Two St. Tammany Parish volleyball teams advance to state semifinals

The LHSAA/State Farm Volleyball State Tournament was held Thursday through Saturday at the
Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. Two of our St. Tammany Parish teams made their way to the Saturday's semifinals.
In Division II action, the No. 2 seeded Lakeshore Lady Titans fell in their semifinal match being downed by No. 6 seed Vandebilt Catholic, 25-14, 25-23, 25-14. Lakeshore finished 36-7 under second-year head coach Jennifer Hebert. The Lady Titans' Erin Schenck  powered down 11 kills with four blocks playing well at the net. Maddison Grapp connected for 19 assists, while Brooke Blackshear and Kacey Freeman pulled up 16 digs each.  
In the other semifinal match, St. Scholastica Academy, the No. 5 seed, came up just short falling to No. 1 seed and eventual state champion St. Thomas More, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23 in a highly competitive semifinal match. SSA coached by Pete Bertucci, finished 26-16. Jessica Lucio topped the Doves with 10 kills, seven digs and an ace, while Maddie Morris contributed 8 kills, three digs and an ace. Emma Estapa connected for 29 assists and Madeline Luke pulled up seven digs. In Friday's quarterfinal match, SSA squeaked past, No. 4 Ben Franklin, dropping the first two games before making a comeback to win the next three sets to advance. Morris spanked 16 kills with seven digs and two aces, while Lucio nailed 15 kills and added 11 digs. Gabby Chaix finished with 12 kills and two blocks in the quarterfinal victory. Estapa totaled 45 assists. Madeline Luke added 13 digs and Natalie Helm netted four blocks for the Doves.