Cooper gets 19 kills, Lainez has 22 assists in regular season finale

By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

RESERVE– With a spot in the playoffs already locked up, ESJ still had to face the Ascension Bulldogs to round out their regular season on Tuesday.

And they got a handfull.

The Lady Wildcats had to rally after falling behind two games to one in the second and third against Ascension Catholic on Tuesday, to squeak by in the tiebreaker for a win in their regular season closer.

The match-up remained close throughout as ESJ opened with a see-sawing 25-23 win before dropping the next two by scores of 22-25 and 19-25.

In the pivotal fourth game, the Wildcats kept their chances alive by jumping out to an 8-3 lead that eroded just a bit, but was convincing in the end, with a 25-11 final.

The tiebreaker was a dead heat when Ascension Catholic rallied to tie the score at 12 apiece, but the ESJ offense stepped it up with an energetic Ashlee Cooper kill to pull ahead for the eventual 15-12 win.

Cooper, a 6’5” senior who has committed to Baylor University, was a fixture at the net with 19 kills and six blocks.

Junior Ashley Givens knocked down six over-powering spikes in the game and served up four aces to score ten points of her own. Junior Diana Lainez, who set up most of those kills for Cooper and Givens, recorded 22 assists.

With an undefeated 8-0 district record, the Lady Wildcats won a number 11 seed for 5-5A. They will play Ponchatoula on Monday at 5:30 at the Wildcat gym in Reserve for the bi-district first round of play.