By DAVE WOODALL
Slidell sports writer
SLIDELL – The #9 seed Northshore Lady Panthers looked like they are hitting their peak just in time as the Panthers took a relatively easy win over the #24 seed Lady Yellow Jackets from Byrd 25-10, 25-6, 25-12 in Bi-District playoff action last Thursday night at the newly renovated Panther gym.
With the win, Northshore traveled to Gonzales to take on the #8 seed East Ascension Lady Spartans last Monday night in regional playoff action.
Victories were hard to come by down the stretch as Northshore came into the contest having lost their last three matches.
Northshore (21-18) dominated Byrd throughout the match and was never in trouble. A service winner by Amanda Caluda closed out the 25-10 first set victory.
The Lady Panthers opened up a huge 18-3 lead in the second set thanks to some great serving by Annelise Vollenweider. Rachel Rodriques ended the 25-6 set with a solid pair of service points.
It was more of the same in the third set as the Lady Panthers opened up another huge, 10-2 lead and coasted to a match ending 25-12 win.
“I thought the team played well and with the right mindset tonight,” Northshore coach Danny Davis said. “It was a total team effort from everyone tonight.”
Giardina and Merry combined for 18 kills. Vollenweider had eight digs and Caluda added six. Vollenweider had 22 assists and four aces while Caluda and Rodriques had three aces apiece.
In their regional match against East Ascension, the Lady Panthers (22-18) defeated the Lady Spartans 26-24, 25-21, 27-25 and punched their ticket to the Pontchartrain Center where they will take on the formidable task of facing the #1 seed Mount Carmel in the quarterfinals. Gametime is slated for 8 p.m.
For Northshore, Amanda Caluda had 13 digs while Annalise Vollenweider and Carly Merry each had 12.
Vollenweider also picked up four blocks, seven kills and 32 assists.
Amanda Giardina contributed 16 kills and Merry had 11.
“Everyone played well tonight but I thought our freshmen did a great job of contributing in a hostile environment,” said Northshore coach Danny Davis.
“We did a great job of limiting their runs and took advantage of what was given to us by East Ascension. I’m very proud of the team’s performance tonight.”