This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly look at 10 things in high school volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. The last Dots will be next Tuesday, we’ll take a break, and then we will have club Dots in the new year.
• My thoughts today are with Pope John Paul head coach Danny Tullis. The Jaguars had just won a Louisiana semifinal match on Friday and were poised to vie for their eighth state title in Division IV since 2013 the next day when the news broke that Danny’s son, Christian, a 16-year-old junior at the school, had been killed in a collision with a semi while returning home. Christian Tullis is the third of Danny’s four children.
Danny was too grief-stricken to coach the final, but his daughter, Ali, a senior setter, played. She had 27 assists, but PJP fell in three sets to Newman, which won state for the first time since 2007. Senior OH Za Nelson was named MVP after contributing 18 kills and 17 digs to Newman’s cause.
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In Division I in Louisiana, Dominican won its third title in a row, downing Mount Carmel in straight sets. The MVP was Camryn Chatellier, daughter of head coach Jessica Chatellier.
Mount Carmel coach April Hagadone, who was a rookie coach in 2007 when I covered the Louisiana championships in person, is retiring after winning eight titles for the Cubs during her tenure. Best wishes, April! You were a favorite of mine from the first moment I met you!
In Division V, Metairie Park Country Day’s title was no surprise. The Cajuns have won 13 titles in 14 years, the only break coming in 2014, when McGehee broke through. Country Day, guided by coach Julie Ibieta, needed five sets to get past Westminster Christian. Ellie Schneider was named the match’s Most Outstanding Player after recording 28 kills.
Since 2012, the only teams winning Division II have been Teurlings Catholic and St. Thomas More. St. Thomas More was the victor this year, in three sets. The title was the third in a row for the Cougars and eighth over the past 11 years.
In Division III, Dunham, a private school in Baton Rouge, moved up in class and won it all, beating E.D. White, a Catholic school from Thibodaux, 16-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-23. Head coach Donna Pixley, in her 20th year as head coach at the school, last won in 2005 in Division V. This year’s title was extra special because daughter Caylin Pixley, was the team’s starting setter.
• With 17…
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