Article Image Alt Text

Lady Pats bring home first playoff victory

“This is very exciting,” North Vermilion head coach Celie Leblanc said. “I felt we had a great chance to win this game because the girls were fired up and we had the home crowd. I’m really excited for what this means to the team, the fans and the program in general. This was a great win for so many reasons other than it was our first.”

This past Thursday night had some firsts for the North Vermilion Lady Patriots. 

It marked the first time they hosted a playoff game and, more importantly, it marked the first time they won a playoff game in the teams short existence. 

“This is very exciting,” North Vermilion head coach Celie Leblanc said. “I felt we had a great chance to win this game because the girls were fired up and we had the home crowd. I’m really excited for what this means to the team, the fans and the program in general. This was a great win for so many reasons other than it was our first.”

For some, the actual game appeared as though it might not happen. 

The opposing team, Lake Area New Tech, was stuck in I-10 traffic for a long time, putting them behind nearly two hours.

However, they did eventually arrive and the game was underway.

The first set was the closest of the three matches with the final score being 25-12. 

The Lady Leopards just couldn’t keep up with NVHS. 

It was a combination of great play by the Lady Pats and unforced errors by the Lady Leopards.

“We played well in the first set, but we were fortunate that they helped us out with all the errors,” Leblanc said.

The Lady Pats picked up the intensity in the second set. It was close in the first five points. 

The Lady Leopards had their only lead of the night, up three to two early in the second set, but the Lady Pats made sure that everyone knew who the best team that night was.  

They quickly railed out 15 straight points and jumped to a 17-3 lead, and there was nothing the Lady Leopards could do to recover.

“We played really well in the second set,” Leblanc said. “We did everything right. We hit the ball well, we blocked well and we defended really well.”

The momentum gathered in the second set sustained itself through into the third set where the Lady Pats made quick work winning 25-9.

“The intensity was really high for the girls tonight,” Leblanc said. “We know that if we can keep the intensity high we have a shot at winning all the games we play in. The girls all week have been fired up and the intensity has been here all week.”

 Next up for the Lady Pats is Iota.

NVHS has already played Iota twice this year and lost both of those games. NVHS lost the first game three sets to none. The second game was much closer with the Lady Pats winning one set, and the three sets they lost were all close.

“Its hard to beat a team a third time,” Leblanc said. “We have already played them twice and the second game was much closer.  If we can play like we did tonight (Thursday) then we have a good shot at moving on further into the playoffs.”

The biggest task ahead for Leblanc and the Lady Pats is the short turn around.

 The game is scheduled for 5:30 Monday night at Iota.

Leblanc mentioned that it is going to be tough to keep the emotions in check.

“Its’ going to be hard,” Leblanc said. “Everyone is excited about the first playoff win, but we also have to remember that we have a game to play.  So we are going to celebrate tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”

 

Written by Andy Bullard Sports editor

PLEASE LOG IN FOR PREMIUM CONTENT

Our website requires visitors to log in to view the best local news from Vermilion Parish. Not yet a subscriber? Subscribe today!

Follow Us

Site Links

Subscriber Links