MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / November 15, 1999

KENNER – St. Charles Catholic advanced to the volleyball state semifinalsfor the third year in a row, rallying to defeat Patterson, 15-11, 3-15, 15- 12, in the Division III quarterfinals Friday afternoon but fell to Parkview Baptist, 15-12, 15-6, later that evening.

It was the third year in a row the Lady Comets had to play the defending state champions in the semifinals, squaring off against Parkview Baptist Friday evening. St. Charles Catholic had played Newman in the Division IVsemifinals each of the past two years.

St. Charles Catholic finished its season at 26-9 while Parkview (27-8)advanced to the finals today.

Erin Melancon led Parkview with 10 kills, 10 digs and four aces. MarciMartin had three aces and six assists for teh Lady Comets while Cristin Clement had seven kills and Katie Arcuri five digs.

In the quarterfinals, Patterson (27-9) grabbed a 6-3 lead in the third game before the Lady Comets rallied to tie it at 6 on a kill by Clement and consecutive aces by Nicole Scontrino. Patterson bounced back to regain thelead at 10-8 on a cross court kill by Jamie Chadwick.

Patterson took a 12-9 lead on a dink by Michelle Brocato but the Lady Comets closed the match with six unanswered points.

Scontrino started the run with an ace and Scontrino and Clement added aces to give the Lady Comets a 13-12 lead. A serve later, Clement made it14-12 with a block and St. Charles Catholic got the match winner asCourtney Williamson returned a shot into the net.

St. Charles Catholic rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first game to take a5-3 lead behind a dink by Sarah Weber.

After an ace by Monica Arcuri made it 8-6, Patterson came back to tie the game at 9. Kills by Weber, Clement and Katie Arcuri helped the LadyComets build a 14-9 lead.

An ace by Mikie Accardo brought the Lumberjills to within 14-11 but Monica Acuri broke the serve with a kill and followed with dink for the game winner.

Patterson pulled out to a 7-2 lead in the second game on a kill by Chadwick and a block by Accardo. After a dink by Weber made it 7-3, adink by Brocato and a kill by Williamson gave the Lumberjills a 13-3 advantage. A kill by Williamson helped the Lumberjills close out the game.The Lady Comets’ first game of the tournament was your everyday 15-1, 14-16, 15-7 victory over Iowa.

St. Charles Catholic appeared to be on its way to running the table in thefirst game, scoring seven straight points on its first serve. Clement hadtwo dinks and a block and Weber added an ace during the run. A serve later,it would be 9-0 behind an ace by Scontrino and a kill by Clement.

An ace into the back right corner by Kate Oberschmidt, two by Clement and a kill down the baseline by Katie Arcuri built the lead to 13-0. After theYellow Jackets got their first point on a Lady Comet error, St. CharlesCatholic put the game away on a kill by Scontrino and a block by Weber.

St. Charles Catholic opened the second game with an ace by Weber and akill by Marci Martin to go ahead 2-0. But any thoughts of an easy victorywere quickly doused as Iowa tied the game on two Lady Comet errors.

The Lady Comets recovered, taking a 5-2 lead behind a kill by Scontrino, an ace by Arcuri and a kill by Martin. An ace by Tara Leleaux cut thedeficit to 5-4 but the Lady Comets came back to build the lead to 8-5 on a kill by Weber.

Iowa rallied at that point, taking advantage of five Lady Comet errors to take its first lead at 10-8. St. Charles Catholic again bounced back, tyingthe game on an ace by Scontrino and a kill and a dink by Clement.

The Lady Comets then went ahead, 13-11, on an ace by Clement and a kill by Weber. But Iowa refued to go away, tying the game on two Lady Cometerrors.

After Scontrino regained the lead for the Lady Comets with a block, Iowa used two Lady Comet errors and a kill by Courtnee Phillips to take the game.

The Lady Comets recovered to take an 11-0 lead in the third game.

Scontrino had two aces during the run and the Yellow Jackets commited nine unforced errors. A dink by Scontrino made it 13-1. The Yellow Jackets again rallied, scoring the game’s next six points, closing to 13-5 on an ace by Kari Self.

A serve later, a kill by Jolie Self made it 13-7. But this time, Weber brokethe serve with a kill and Martin and Clement delivered kills for the win.

Scontrino finished with a game-high 12 kills and four aces. Clement ledthe defense with 10 digs and three blocks while Martin paced the offense with 15 assists.

Iowa, which finished at 18-6, was led by Jolie Self with six kills. BrandyBrignac and Kasey Brignac had two digs apiece with Brandy Brignac contributing five blocks.

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