The Airline Lady Vikings’ historic volleyball season came to a close Wednesday with a loss to Acadiana in the first round of the Division I playoffs in Lafayette.
Airline, the No. 17 seed, didn’t take a set off No. 16 Acadiana, but the Lady Vikings came closer as the match went on. The first set was 25-14, the second 25-19 and the third 25-23.
Airline was making its first playoff appearance in its third season of varsity volleyball. The Lady Vikings finished 17-7 overall. They made history by winning the District 1-I championship, the first in the school’s history.
Acadiana (17-14) will travel to New Orleans for a second-round match against two-time defending state champion and No. 1 seed Mt. Carmel.
It was the final game for five Airline seniors — Aspen Oliver, Cassie Bailey, Lauren Pilcher, Haylea Patterson and Ashley Haigler. Those five helped lay the foundation for Airline’s future success.
Oliver had seven kills and one block against Acadiana. Pilcher had five aces, two kills, one block, two assists and one dig. Haigler had 10 assists and five digs. Patterson had two kills and three digs. Bailey had three digs.
Sophomore Brooklyn Brandon had eight digs. Sophomore Kate Blancaflor had two kills, two assists and seven digs. Junior Kaylea Noble had one ace, two kills, two blocks, two assists and two digs. Sophomore Zahria Lloyd had two kills and 11 digs.
— Russell Hedges, rhedges@bossierpress.com
