Tom Dodge
St. Edmund’s season opener against Crowley started off well for the Lady Jays.
St. Edmund won the first two sets, but Crowley then regrouped for three straight wins in the Lady Jays’ season opener.
The Lady Jays opened the first set with a 3-0 lead before the Ladies responded to grab a 4-3 advantage.
St. Edmund went on a 6-0 run, aided by three aces by Savnnah DeVillier and a kill by Rebecca Benoit.
Crowley closed the margin to 11-9 before kills by Hannah Benoit and Anna Belle Fontenot increased the Jays lead to 15-9.
After serveral errors by both teams, a block by DeVillier gave SEH a 17-11 advantage.
A series of miscues pushed the Lady Jays up, 21-13.
A spike by Benoit and a CHS errror pushed St. Edmund to game point, but the Ladies battled to close the gap to 24-19 on three kills by Tay Guidry and an ace from Khalee Meaux.
A serve error sealed the 25-19 win for the Lady Jays.
The second set was very competitive as neither team could grab a sizeable lead.
Crowley took a quick lead, but St. Edmund forced several ties to keep the set close.
After tying the game 6-6, the Lady Jays went on a run, aided by a spike and an ace by Fontenot.
DeVillier later added a kill and an ace as St. Ed’s moved ahead 15-11.
A series of errors allowed Crowley to force an 18-18 tie.
After the Ladies moved ahead by two points, crucial hits by Fontenot and Chole Warner forced a 20-20 tie.
The set was tied again at 23-23 before two Crowley hits out of bounds sealed the 25-23 win for the Lady Jays.
Crowley opened the third set with a 10-1 run, taking advantage of numerous Lady Jay errors.
St. Ed’s battled back, aided by kills by DeVillier and Benoit, as the Lady Jays closed the gap to 16-7.
Later trailing 21-9, the Lady Jays fought to get the game alive and was able to pull closer with spikes again by Benoit and DeVillier.
Crowley moved to game point with a strong hit by Guidry, but the Lady Jays responded with hits by DeVillier and Benoit.
With Julia Zaunbrecher serving, the Lady Jays battled to close the margin to 24-21 before Crowley grabbed the 25-21 win.
CHS jumped out to a 7-1 advantage in the third set before the Lady Jays fought back to force a 7-7 tie.
The game was tied three more times before SEH used hits by Fontenot and Hannah Benoit to grab a 15-11 advantage.
The set remained tight with errors on both teams.
A kill by DeVillier and Ellie Manuel later helped increase the Lady Jays’ lead to 23-20.
The set was tied at 24-24 before Crowley took advantage of two Lady Jay miscues to grab a 26-24 win.
In the fifth and deciding set, the fight continued between the two teams.
The set was tied six times as neither team could grab control of the match.
Fontenot recorded two kills, while hits from Manuel and Zaunbrecher helped the Lady Jays stay in the contest.
Crowley sealed the set and the match with a kill by Guidry.
In junior varsity action, St. Edmund won 25-22 and 25-16 with Crowley grabbing the last set, 15-10.
The Lady Jays were supposed to begin the season on Tuesday, but the game against Lake Charles College Prep was postponed because of the affects of Hurricane Laura.
St. Edmund will be on the road this week with games at Beau Chene (Monday), Church Point (Wednesday) and Jennings (Saturday).