By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

PONTCHATOULA — A team can never quite be sure what to expect when playing on the road. For St. Charles Catholic, a test of endurance awaited it when it arrived at Pontchatoula: the gym’s air conditioning unit was out, meaning the teams would face off in less than ideal conditions.

The Comets did their part to lessen the pain, taking care of the Green Wave in three games, 25-23, 25-21 and 25-19. 

“We’ve been fighting to win matches in four and five sets,” SCC senior Kaitlyn Lowry said. “We knew we had an opportunity to do well today. The A/C being out, it was just some adversity for our team to respond to. We knew we wanted to finish in three, and we did.”

The Comets were tough at the net, faced with the task of stopping a strong opposing hitter in Pontchatoula’s Schuylar Ramsey. Lowry finished with five blocks, while teammate Lela Hill added three.

“We knew once we blocked her, we had to keep digging,” Lowry said. “And once we had them down, we needed to keep them down.”

Lowry finished with eight kills, tied with Maddie Murphy for a game-high. Hill added three kills. Alyssa Arceneaux made 13 digs and had three kills. Murphy added 10 assists. Grace Mohon had 14 assists to go with four kills and a block. 

First-year Comets coach Meghan Ericksen said the Comets had played to the opponent’s record for much of this season, but that on Thursday, her players asserted themselves from the start. 

“We constantly talk about treating every point like it’s still 0-0 on the scoreboard,” Ericksen said. “We’ve struggled to do that at times, but we pushed through that.”

In the third and final set, Pontchatoula (2-8) got off to a strong start as it attempted to stave off defeat. A Ramsey tip and a kill by Rebecca Hicks gave the Wave an 8-4 lead early.

SCC regrouped, with Hill stepping up with a kill and a tip for a score to help generate a 9-1 run and push the Comets ahead 14-9. SCC kept it going, with Lowry scoring on a tip and a block to help make it a 20-11 Comets lead. 

The Green Wave wasn’t done yet, a Morgan Fontenot ace helping spark an 8-1 run to cut the lead to two, 21-19. 

But after a Comets (4-4) time out, Jade Brady helped turn the momentum for good, tapping a ball into a dead spot for a score. SCC scored the final three points unanswered from there, with Lowry serving aces for two of them, including the match-clincher.

In the second game, kills by Murphy and Lowry helped turn a 16-15 Comet lead into a 20-15 advantage. The Wave came back to tie things at 20, but a Lowry kill and ace helped SCC reestablish control for good. 

The first game was back and forth, with neither team taking more than a four-point lead at any point. There were 13 ties and four lead-changes, with the Comets ultimately finishing things via a Murphy kill.

“We stayed energetic throughout the match,” Lowry said. “We believed in ourselves and the results showed it.”

Ericksen said the team’s defensive effort was strong, and eight matches into the season, things may be starting to click for the Comets.

“We’ve been working on covering and blocking down,” Ericksen said. “We’re starting to get a hold of things right now.”

SCC returns to action Monday as it hosts Walker. Thursday the team will travel to Lusher and Friday the Comets open district play at home against St. James. All games will see JV begin at 4:30 p.m. with varsity to follow. 

 

SCC FALLS TO ASCENSION CATHOLIC — The Bulldogs knocked off the Comets in a tough five-game match, 19-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-13 and 15-9. 

Mohon had 13 assists to help lead SCC. Lowry made eight kills and four blocks. Lexi Tran had three kills while Crysta Remondet added two. Arceneaux made eight digs.