MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / November 11, 2000

KENNER – St. Charles Catholic took Brusly to the wire but the third-rankedLady Panthers rallied late to pull out a 15-7, 9-15, 15-13 victory Thursday afternoon in the state volleyball tournament in the Pontchartrain Center.

Brusly (25-10) played Breaux Bridge in the quarterfinals Friday morning.

Breaux Bridge defeated Landry, 15-3, 15-3 earlier Thursday.

St. Charles Catholic, the District 6-III runner-up, finished its season at 15-23. The Lady Comets were making their 15th straight appearance in thetournament.

The teams split the first two games and neither could pull further ahead than two points in the final game. Brusly took a 3-1 lead on a kill by LeighGilbert but St. Charles Catholic rallied to tie the game at 4 on a kill by NikkiMichel. The Lady Comets took their first lead two serves later on a cross-court ace inside the left line.

The lead grew to 8-6 on a lift by Brusly on a serve by Amanda Helm. JodyFitzgerald tied the game for Brusly with a kill, then added another to give the Lady Panthers the lead. A dink by Nikeisha Green and a kill down the left sideby Gilbert gave the Lady Panthers a 11-9 advantage.

St. Charles Catholic tied the game again at 11 on kills by Heather Heltz andMonica Arcuri. A lift on a serve by Katie Arcuri again gave the Lady Cometsthe lead. After Brusly tied the game at 12, a dink by Sarah Weber gave theLady Comets their final lead.

Brusly broke St. Charles Catholic’s serve on a cross-court kill by Gilbert.Fitzgerald then tied the game at 13 on a kill. After a save by LatashaJohnson, Fitzgerald spiked a shot off the net for a 14-13 lead. Following a St.Charles Catholic timeout, Fitzgerald delivered another kill for the match winner.

Brusly dominated the first game and took a 2-0 lead in the second on a kill by Gilbert. But St. Charles Catholic answered on its next serve after Michelbroke the Lady Panthers’ serve with a kill. Michel then delivered an ace, KatieArcuri flipped a shot over and Monica Arcuri killed a free ball at the net to give the Lady Comets a 4-2 lead.

Katie Arcuri broke the Lady Panthers’ next serve with a kill and the Lady Comets pulled away with her serving, scoring 10 straight points. An ace byArcuri and a block by Monica Arcuri helped build the lead to 9-2. MonicaArcuri then blocked a shot, following it with a kill, and Helm added a shot off the net for a 14-2 advantage.

Brusly held off the game winner with a kill by Gilbert, then rallied with seven straight points. Dinks by Karissa Johnson and Crystal Johnson brought theLady Panthers to within 14-9. But a net violation against Brusly regained theserve for St. Charles Catholic and Monica Arcuri responded with an ace downthe middle of the court.

Brusly started off strong in the first game, taking a 4-1 lead on a kill by Fitzgerald. St. Charles Catholic rallied to tie the game on a block and two killsby Monica Arcuri. Two serves later, Katie Arcuri delivered an ace to give theLady Comets their first lead at 5-4.

Brusly regained the lead on its next serve as Fitzgerald delivered a kill off a block. The Lady Panthers then began to pull away, using an ace by Green totake a 11-5 lead.

A kill by Helm kept St. Charles Catholic in it at 12-6 but Annie Beth Lemoineanswered with a dink over the net. A lift call against the Lady Comets and akill by Fitzgerald gave the Lady Panthers the game.

“I guess nerves got to us,” St. Charles Catholic head coach Michelle Dearmittsaid of the first game. “When we woke up in the second game, we got the jobdone. In the third game, the chips just didn’t fall in for us.”Monica Arcuri led the Lady Comets with six kills and nine blocks. HeatherHeltz had 22 assists and tied Helm for the team lead with 11 digs. KatieArcuri served a match-high four aces.

Fitzgerald finished with a match-high 15 kills and five blocks for Brusly.

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