St. Scholastica Academy’s Doves turned in an outstanding effort over the weekend in the Country Day Tournament in Metairie, capturing the title with an unblemished 7-0 mark. The Doves downed Dominican, 25-23, 25-17, Saturday to win the championship.

The Northshore Lady Panthers also competed in the tournament, finishing 1-2.

SSA juniors Kristi Harrison and Camille Walther were named to the All-Tournament Team.  Harrison led the way in the championship match with seven kills and two blocks. Christina Wurm delivered six kills, followed by Shelby Fritscher with five in a balanced attack. Junior setter Meghan Clark delivered 20 assists.

The Doves upped their season record to 16-5 with the strong tournament showing.

Doves’ head coach Danny Davis said his team turned in a balanced effort in all phases to win the title.

“The kids did a great job in the final. Meghan (Clark) did a great job of moving the ball around on offense. The offense was very efficient by hitting .344 against Dominican,” Davis said.

Davis praised the play of his defense with Walther pulling up 12 digs and Sam Delahoussaye adding nine.

“The defense dug everything. It was a total team effort this past weekend for us to come out on top. It was a crazy start to the week with Fontainebleau, the start of exams and Mandeville on Thursday, only to round out the week with a tough tournament. The team showed a lot of resiliency,” Davis added.

Audrey Gitz served three aces, and Monique Giarrusso added two in the championship match.

SSA downed Dunham Friday, 25-21, 25-12, behind Clark’s 20 assists. Walther, Wurm and Fritscher combined for 19 kills. Delahoussaye recorded 12 digs, while Gitz had two aces.  

In match two, SSA handled Ben Franklin, 25-10, 25-8. Clarke had 22 assists with three aces. Harrison tallied seven kills followed by Blakely Brennan with six.

SSA took care of Karr, 25-13, 25-21. Walther topped the Doves with 11 kills and seven digs. Gitz was credited with seven digs and five aces, while Clark totaled 17 assists.

SSA topped St. Amant, 25-16, 25-16, with Harrison finishing with nine kills followed by Walther with six. Walther also had three aces. Delahoussaye came through with eight digs and four aces. Clark netted 18 assists and three aces.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Doves defeated St. Amant, 25-9, 25-10. Clark had 20 assists, while Harrison ripped seven kills followed by Gitz, Walther and Wurm with four each. Delahoussaye came through with 14 digs and Monique Giarrusso served two aces.

In the semifinals, SSA edged Chalmette, 25-22, 26-24. Walther pulled up 10 digs, and downed seven kills. Harrison and Fritscher chipped in with seven kills each. Clark dished off for 24 assists. Delahoussaye did her thing on defense recording 15 digs. Kayli LaGarde contributed three aces to the Doves’ attack.

Coach Davis said his players did a great job of moving their feet in the semifinal match.               

“We had to compete against a scrappy Chalmette team. It could have gone either way. Meghan (Clark) did a great job of moving the ball around on offense, and the back row was very steady in their first contact (passing and digging),” Davis added.   

Northshore opened the tournament by losing to Belle Chase, 21-25, 18-25. The Lady Panthers came back to defeat Dutchtown, 25-23, 25-18. NHS then fell to host Country Day, 17-25, 14-25.