FHS sweeps Assumption to advance

Fontainebleau rode the power hitting of senior Lindsey Barron, who delivered a match-high 18 kills along with four blocks, sparking the Lady Bulldogs past the Assumption Lady Mustangs, 25-21, 25-14, 25-17, Wednesday in the regional round of the state volleyball playoffs at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.

FHS (33-6), the No. 5 seed, put away Assumption (20-14), the No. 12 seed. At press time, the Lady Bulldogs were scheduled to play St. Thomas More (No. 4 seed) in the quarterfinals.

“We were a little jittery at the start. I guess we were a little nervous with some of our younger players being in the Pontchartrain Center for the first time. We got ourselves so excited that we were nervous,” Barron said.

FHS got consistent passing from sophomore McCrea Barney and junior Michelle Cabeceiras, who combined for 36 assists. Barney netted 19 assists, while Cabeceiras added 17. Defensively, junior Jessica Guttierrez led the Lady Dawgs with 13 digs followed by sophomore Caitlyn Auxilien with 11. Freshman Haley Bonneval was credited with three blocks.

“We knew it would be a tough match. We had never played each other so we didn’t know exactly how they would play. Other people told me they were very athletic,” FHS coach Danny Tullis said.

Tullis said once his players got over their initial nervousness, they were able to settle down. “I thought our setters did a good job moving the ball around. Our hitters came through, and our younger players in some cases played like seniors when it counted,” Tullis added.

Game one was tied seven times with the last stalemate coming at 19-19.

Barron established her supremacy at the net early in game, registering three kills.

With the game tied 4-4, Assumption’s Paula Breaux served four straight points. Following a Fontainebleau time out, Amanda Schneck delivered a kill for the Lady Bulldogs to stop the run. FHS trailed 11-8 when Schneck served three points to tie things at 11-11. Schneck later tied the game with a kill at 18-all. With the game knotted at 19 apiece, Barney hit for three straight points. FHS led 24-21 on a Barron kill, her eighth of the game. Guttierrez finished things off with an ace for a 25-21 opening game victory.

Strong serving in game two by Fontainebleau and three separate five-point runs by the Lady Dawgs proved to be the difference. FHS trailed 3-2 when Cabeceiras drilled five straight serves. Later Guttierrez produced a kill to give FHS a 10-7 lead. Barney followed with five in a row for a 15-7 advantage.

Assumption’s Brychana Williams regained serve for the Lady Mustangs with a kill. Williams continued to make her presence felt serving three consecutive points to cut the lead to 15-11 before a Barron kill for FHS.

Schneck finished off the Lady Bulldogs final five-point spurt from the serving line. Barron tallied seven kills in game two with some incredible adjustments at the net.

FHS continued its strong serving in game three. Cabeceiras and Guttierrez served four points each. Auxilien delivered three points and Schneck added two. FHS sophomore Taylor Anderson came up big in game three with four kills and a block.