Domini-'can' and 'does' win the coveted VB crown

By Ron Brocato
Clarion Herald Sports Editor

Carolyn Favre has spent most of her life at Dominican High School, as a student, a teacher, the athletic director, the school’s principal and now its vice president as well. 
 

And, in all the many decades she had been associated with her alma mater, Favre  had yet to see her school win a state championship in volleyball, its most popular sport.
 

That changed on Nov. 14 when head coach Jessica Chatellier and a team of predominantly underclassmen played up to its billing as the No. 1 seed to win its first Division I title in six championship match appearances since 1992.
 

Dominican has been around for much longer than that. It won its first state championship in basketball back in 1951 when it was the only local Catholic school for girls to join the LHSAA. The fieldhouse has trophies and banners commemorating state titles in the sports of swimming, tennis, softball, cross country and soccer, so the Uptown school is no stranger to athletic success.
 

But adding a state title to its laurels in a sport dominated in recent years by its district rival Mount Carmel, which has 14 state championships, is especially meaningful. 
 

To win the coveted trophy, Dominican defeated nine-time champion St. Joseph Academy in four sets, 25-13, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22 in the tournament finals at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, one day after the Baton Rouge team (23-4) eliminated Mount Carmel in the semifinal round. Until that third-set loss to the runner-up Redstickers from Baton Rouge, Dominican had not lost a single game in eliminating playoff opponents Benton, Chalmette, Sulphur and Mandeville.
 

A balanced attack was the key to success. Just two seniors were key contributors – Elizabeth Hardouin and Sara Waterman – to the state title run. Junior Kate Baker was the Division I Outstanding Player, but the award could have easily gone to Hardouin, junior Brook Couret, sophomore O’Neil Haddad or the coach’s freshman daughter, Camryn Chatellier. 
 

Dominican ended its odyssey with a 31-2 record. Its only defeats came in the district to Mount Carmel, which had its championship streak end at six, one match before the Cubs would have met their archrival for a third time.
 

The tournament proved to be a showcase for New Orleans Catholic high school volleyball teams. The archdiocese was well represented in Kenner by nine schools. Eight advanced as far as the semifinals where they had to face each other in do-or-die showdowns.
 

Archbishop Hannan, a 2018 state champion, defeated 2019 winner Cabrini in the Division III championship match, 25-9, 25-17, 25-12. The victorious Hawks (19-11) took advantage of a rebuilding Crescents team that entered the finals with a 14-9 record. And after opening the season with four straight losses, Hannan righted its course and steadily improved against a highly competitive schedule, which included two eventual state champions (Dominican and Academy of the Sacred Heart) and one runner-up Pope John Paul II). Cabrini’s height at the net provided little deterrence as Hawks’ sophomore Carleigh Breaux, junior Rylee Morris and freshman Sophia Bonnaffee were steady performers.
 

The Division IV title matched two more local Catholic schools, and 14-time champion Sacred Heart (above) claimed its first title since 2006 by defeating 2019 champion Pope John Paul II in four sets, 25-21, 18-25, 25-22, 25-21. Senior May Manning, daughter of Cooper Manning and granddaughter of Archie and Olivia Manning, was named the division’s Outstanding Player for her all-around play. 
 

The title match marked the Cardinals’ 21st finals appearance but their first in 10 years. Led by Manning and fellow senior Lindsey Magaw, the Cards posted a 19-4 record and won 10 straight sets in the state tournament before losing a game in the finals.
 

Academy of Our Lady’s Cinderella season and perfect record came to an end in the Division II semifinal round when the Penguins lost to eventual runner-up St. Thomas More in three sets. 
 

Before having their consecutive victory streak snapped at 26, the No. 3 seed Penguins had won nine straight games in the tournament before facing the No. 2 Cougars.
 

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