SJA tunes up for playoffs with win over MCA

• By ROBIN FAMBROUGH
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Oct 30, 2009

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It was senior night and the final night of the regular season for the St. Joseph’s Academy volleyball team.

Some teams might schedule an easy opponent. Not the two-time defending Division I-Class 5A state champion Redstickers.

Instead, St. Joseph’s faced another traditional power, Mount Carmel Academy of New Orleans, and claimed a 3-1 win Thursday night at SJA.

“I thought we played well,” St. Joseph’s coach Sivi Miller said. “I was impressed by the intensity. I really thought that made the difference.”

The Redstickers (38-1) won by scores of 25-8, 19-25, 25-21 and 25-14 over Mount Camel (36-5). The two teams, along with Mandeville’s Fontainebleau, figure to be the top-seeded teams in Division I when playoff pairings are announced next week.

“What better way to get ready for the playoffs than to play the two-time defending state champion?” Mount Carmel coach April Hagadone said. “I think the thing that sets them (St. Joseph’s) apart is their experience.

“They’ve got eight seniors who’ve played together for years. And they’ve got all the weapons you need. We’re a team with a little less experience. We can take this and learn from it.”

Tulane commitment Cori Martone finished with game-highs of 18 kills and 15 blocks, while Caroline May added 16 kills, 16 digs and 10 blocks for SJA.

Sabrina Stansberry (10 kills, 10 blocks), Lindsey Fourroux (23 assists), Ashley Legendre (22 assists) and Morgan Adams (24 digs) were other leaders for the Redstickers.

Kaylynn Genemaras (11 kills), Ashley Lala (15 assists) and Alex Pfefferle (17 digs) were the leaders for Mount Carmel.

“Tonight we had to communicate,” Legendre said. “When we do that we play together well as a team.”

The Redstickers hit on all cylinders in the first set. It was a one-point first set until Martone stepped back to serve. Martone had three aces and May contributed three kills as SJA built a 17-6 lead.

From there, St. Joseph’s won, 25-8, but the second set was a different story. Mount Carmel went on the offensive and built a 9-1 lead. SJA battled back to with four points at 22-18 before MCA wrapped up a 25-19 win.