Northlake Christian School’s Lady Wolverines advanced to the semifinals of the Division V state playoffs Thursday with a 25-12, 25-23, 25-16 victory over Delcambre in the quarterfinal round at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.

No. 3 NCS (28-12), the defending state champion, will play the winner of second-seeded Metairie Park Country Day and seventh-seeded Northside Christian this afternoon at 1:30. Those squads competed yesterday after press time.

Delcambre’s season comes to an end after a 19-14 campaign.

Northlake Christian School'€™s Mary Wilson (11) attempts to bump the ball over the net as Delcambre'€™s Kailyn Viator (12) tries to block it and NCS'€™ Monica Raymond (2) is in position. (Staff Photo by Chris Kinkaid)

The Lady Wolverines captured the first game by finishing on a 12-2 run.

Northlake Christian struggled a little in the second game, but hung in.

The big part of the match came late in that contest. NCS found itself down, 22-18, but things turned around for NCS as it scored the final seven-of-eight points to get a 25-23 win. During the spurt, Brittany Scearce, who tied teammate Monica Raymond for team leadership with 17 kills, recorded three consecutive kills, which set up NCS with a game point.

NCS coach Michelle Anderson credited Delcambre with good serving during that game. She also said her squad didn’t play well, but gave them kudos for finding a way to win.

“We didn’t have our best game, but we hung in there and that’s a true testament of a good team. Because even when you’re not playing your best, being able to hold on and finding a way to win. That’s what we did,” Anderson said.

The game two win seemed to be a springboard for the third game.

“I think that’s what took us through the third game was how much momentum we had,” said Scearce, who also blocked four shots.

In the third game, Delcambre opened by going ahead, 1-0, but that was the Lady Panthers’ final advantage of the match. NCS came back on a 5-1 run and took a 5-2 lead.

Delcambre was able to work the lead down to 8-6, but the Lady Wolverines tallied the next four points to make it 12-6.

Again Delcambre cut into the advantage, trimming it to 13-11 and then 15-13. A Scearce kill put NCS ahead 16-13 and began a 10-3-stretch run that took the Lady Wolverines into the semifinals and one step away from getting back to the finals.

NCS’ Hannah Miranda tallied 30 assists, while Hannah Miller recorded 12 digs and Angela Barrios served four aces.

For Delcambre, Chelsie Taylor posted 11 kills, while Kailyn Viator blocked three shots and Heather Broussard had a pair of aces. Brittany Granger and Jessica Touchet each handed out nine assists, and Granger added six digs.