VOLLEYBALL: Rams stop Saints in quarterfinals, win district title game – American Press

WESTLAKE – There was no disappointment for the Westlake Rams this time.

With their loss to St. Louis Catholic in a five-set thriller still fresh in their minds in 2023, the Rams won the rematch in four sets after dropping the first set in Thursday’s Division III, District 1 showdown .

Westlake (18-8, 4-0) won 17-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 to secure at least a share of the district title. With a win at Jennings on Tuesday, they can win the district title outright.

“That was a big deal,” Westlake head coach Gloria Fontenot said. “Obviously we needed that for the district, especially after last year’s (game).

“It got to the point for us too. We won the first two sets and then they took the next three from us. We’ve felt that since last year because we felt like we should have had it last year. “

The win gives the Rams a needed boost in the power rankings with the end of the regular season just a week away. Westlake began the week ranked No. 7 in the Division III power rankings.

“So it’s good to come out of this and secure the district title, but also for the power rankings. This will help us tremendously,” Fontenot said. “We were sitting around five and we really needed this win. That’s why I’m happy about it.”

After losing the first set, Westlake used the powerful combination of middle hitters Gabby Guillory and Shamira Guillory to turn the game around. Gabby Guillory had a match-high 19 kills with three aces, 10 digs and two blocks, while Shamira Guillory had 12 kills and three blocks. Setter Maddy Guillory kept the offense going with 41 assists, plus two aces and 13 digs.

Gabby Guillory and Shamira Guillory combined for nine kills in the second set and eight in the third set as the Rams gained momentum. The Rams closed out the third set and took a 7-1 lead.

“They did well,” Fontenot said. “They came out well in the middle.

“And I thought Maddy (Guillory) did a really good job feeding the middle. She knew who to give the ball to and when. We could have mixed things up a bit more with the pins, especially the right pin, but if it works, you go with it. And I thought she did a really good job and the middle players also did a good job of mixing up the points of attack.

“They did a good job moving it. If you look at our spray chart in terms of hit rate, we see we hit all over the field, so that’s a good thing.”

St. Louis’ (21-10, 3-1) 10-game winning streak ended with its first loss since Oct. 3 after they won the first set. They are ranked 11th in Division III.

“We’ve struggled with this all season,” St. Louis Catholic head coach Elizabeth Thompson said. “We just let off the gas and get a little complacent, stopped being disciplined, stopped doing all the little things, and in the end it just gets worse and we lose a little bit of control.”

“This is a great group of girls. We just talked about it in the huddle. Every game we played, we learned from it. We have become better because of it. The plan is simply to learn from it and move on. We now have bigger things on the horizon than the district championship and the upcoming state championship.”

Katie Builledeau and Emma Broussard led the Saints with 13 and eight kills, respectively.