By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE—For the first time since 2008, St. Charles Catholic has advanced in the state volleyball playoffs after capturing victory Thursday in a back-and-forth five-game match at St. Katharine Drexel, 25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 23-25 and 15-11.
The 17th seeded Comets move on to the regional round of the Division IV playoffs, where St. Charles will face top-ranked Notre Dame.
“Our girls really wanted this win,” said St. Charles coach Kristin Sullivan, who earned her first career postseason victory. “It meant a lot to them, and they were pumped up and excited leading into it.’
“They really wanted to go out and earn it, and that’s what they really did. They earned their points, made some nice kills, served tough and made aces … There were some mistakes here and there, but they played through it. I’m extremely proud of them.”
Kaitlyn Lowry and Allison Savoie each made seven kills to lead SCC in hitting.  Savoie also served seven aces while Lowry added two blocks. Brooke Tregre made 18 assists. Alyssa Arceneaux made 15 digs.
The match saw a number of sudden momentum shifts, with four of the five games coming down to the wire. The Comets (11-24) overcame a 7-0 deficit to win the second game while St. Katharine trailed 6-0 before rallying to win the third game.
“There were so many plays, calls, breaks that went both ways,” said Sullivan. “And in games like those, it can make all the difference. We made some key mistakes in the third and fourth games. We made serving errors two different times when we were tied at 23, and that helped them force that fifth game.’
“But we didn’t give up. We adjusted and played really well in the last game to close it out.”
St. Charles served 24 aces as a team Thursday.
The Comets had notched a win over St. Katharine in the regular season. Sullivan said that boosted the confidence of her players entering into a road playoff match.
“(St. Katharine) has some very strong athletes,” said Sullivan. “They’ve got two very good servers that gave us problems. But I thought overall, we moved around a lot better than we had been.”
Now, it’s on to Notre Dame.
“I had a chance to see them play earlier this season. They’re good,” said Sullivan. “It’s not one specific person that’ll hurt you, it’s all of them. We’ve got a tough task, but the girls won’t quit. I know they’re looking to surprise a whole lot of people, and if we’re competing at our best, I know we can surprise the heck out of ‘em.”