By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

As play rolls on in the very competitive District 4-I, Hahnville Coach Mendi Leboeuf says her team isn’t quite at the top of its game yet. Consistency, she says, is still a problem for her Tigers.

East St. John Coach Monica Hebert shares the same sentiment in regards to her own team – the Wildcats have battled, but are still searching for their first district win.

Hahnville kept that search alive on Wednesday, as the hosting Tigers defeated the Ladycats in four games, 25-14, 12-25, 25-16, 25-14.

The Tigers (5-7, 2-2) shook off an East St. John surge in the match’s second game, jumping out to big leads  throughout the third and fourth games to close out the win.

“We had a really poor second game. But the girls didn’t lay down. They stayed in the game, and we worked on our issues,” Leboeuf said.

East St. John (3-9, 0-4) can look dominant at times when it plays as it did in that second game. The Ladycats built a lead relying on constant hustle, ferocious spikes, and some rally-killing blocks. The ESJ players read the court well, and found dead spots in the Hahnville defense.

But that team seemed to fade once the third game began.

“It’s like two different teams,” said Hebert. “I can’t understand how we come out, play that well, do all the necessary things, then drop the next two like we did.

“Consistency was our word of the week. It’s starting to become our word of the year.”

A 7-0 run that built a 20-10 Tigers lead launched Hahnville over the Wildcats in the first game. That run included three aces by Shea Zeringue. An Ana Guthier kill and another Zeringue ace closed out the win for HHS.

But East St. John was on fire to start the second game, opening up a 14-5 lead. That grew to 17-6 after kills by Jasmine Marshall and Chantell Bush. Hahnville would score five in a row to rally to 17-11, but a kill by Mariah Wilder capped a 6-0 run that made it 23-11. Bush and Wilder each made a kill to close the game.

Leboeuf rallied her team between games.

“I just told them that we needed to refocus. We weren’t passing well at all,” she said.

The focus indeed returned, and the tall, athletic Tigers were once again a force at the net. Hahnville started the third game with a Jasmine Hill kill, and jumped out to a 15-4 lead. East St. John would rally to trail 20-15 late, but HHS scored the last five points, including a block by Jamara Celistan to clinch it.

The two teams traded points back and fourth to start the fourth and final game. But with Hahnville leading 15-11, Elise DeBruler stepped on the serving line, and East St. John struggled to break her rhythm. Seven points and two aces later, the Wildcats were down 22-11, and wouldn’t be able to climb back into it.

East St. John senior setter Emily Heltz said that her Wildcats may have had a bit of an emotional letdown after the second game.

“We were so excited to win against Hahnville,” Heltz said. “We were really pumped up. I guess we got a little too excited. It wasn’t over yet.”

Meanwhile, Hahnville junior Jasmine Hill said that she and her team weren’t completely satisfied with their performance in the win.

“I don’t think we played our best,” she said. “It was a good win, but we can do a lot better.”

Hill finished with five kills, eight digs, and two aces. Celistan had eight kills, while Jia Bridges had seven. Debruler had 26 assists.

Mariah Wilder had with 11 kills and two blocks to lead East St. John. Heltz had 13 assists. Jasmine Marshall had four kills and two aces, and Chantell Bush added four kills and two blocks.

It was the second loss to a district and local rival in a week for East St. John. Destrehan defeated ESJ 25-17, 25-8, 25-22 on Monday at ESJ.

Wilder had four kills and Heltz had six assists to lead the Wildcats.

Hebert said that Destrehan’s serve receive proved a big difference.

“It was powerful. They’ve got a very good team,” she said. “They’re improved from a year ago.”

South LaFourche hosted East St. John on Saturday, winning in four, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15, and 25-18.

Wilder had 14 kills, three blocks and an ace. Heltz had 18 assists. Nairobi Dennis had three assists, two aces, and three blocks.