Live Oak High Volleyball

WATSON - Live Oak junior outside hitter Hailey Callahan was named the Division II, District 3 Most Valuable Player, while fellow junior teammates Valarie Aucoin and Kierra Hayes were also named to all-district volleyball first team. All three helped spearhead the Lady Eagles to their first-ever outright district championship, which also earned first-year head coach Jamie Colombo the league's "Coach of the Year" honor.

Callahan finished district with 116 kills on her way to a 301-kill season overall. She also had 29 service aces, seven blocks and seven assists in league play, while defensively tallying 112 digs. Aucoin, another outside hitter, had 92 kills in league play, along with 16 aces, a pair of blocks and three assists. Defensively, she collected 124 digs. Hayes, who transferred in, was the Lady Eagles' starting setter. She finished district play with with a team-high 182 assists. She also had 11 service aces, three kills and 40 digs. She finished the overall season with 441 assists.

Rounding out the first team were Casey Brown, Tremelia Kelly and Taylor Padgett of Central; Wyneika Anderson, Whitney Williams and Shalyn Griffin of Glen Oaks; Akia Carter and Tamara Jilles of Istrouma; Jasmin Watson and Daylin Boatner of Scotlandville and Olivia Myers of Hammond.

WATSON - Prior to Monday's night Division II Regional Round volleyball match between host Live Oak and O.Perry Walker, the two referees had their tape measure out making sure the net was at its proper height. In fact, they adjusted the net maybe a quarter of an inch higher to reach the exact proper height to high school specifications. The Acadiana crew probably could have raised that net another foot without slowing down the Lady Chargers' front line of Tyneishah Spears, India Wallace and Shaquilla Green. The three O.P. Walker players played above the net all night long, while the remainder of the team nearly dug their way back to New Orleans, as the Lady Chargers punched their ticket to the state tournament with a 25-10, 29-31, 25-13, 25-14 win over Live Oak inside the Lady Eagles' gym.

No matter how successful Live Oak's volleyball season was, which included their first outright district title this year and the most victories in the program's history, Monday night's regional-round playoff loss to O.P. Walker was painful and disappointing. "The bottom line is by the end of the day, they (O.P. Walker) played together as a team, they worked together as a team and they fought together as a team," said first-year head coach Jamie Colombo. "And we didn't do that at all. We didn't play together as a team, nor did we communicate as a team. We didn't pass the ball and we couldn't get excited because of the lack of any team offense." Still, in the aftermath of the loss Colombo was able to reflect on many positives about the season.

"The outcome, obviously we wanted to win and go to the state tournament," said Colombo. "But we did win district, we earned a bye (by being seeded seventh) in the first round and made it to the regionals. And our record (24-10 overall) is the best by any Live Oak volleyball team. "There's a lot they can look at that's positive," said Colombo. "There were a lot of exciting things they did accomplish. Unfortunately at the end of the day, we just couldn't pull it together and get a win."

One positive the Lady Eagles may remember for a long time was Game 2, in which they fought off four game-point situations by O.P. Walker to pull out an exciting 31-29 victory to even the match up at that point at a game apiece. Unlike the first game where they fell behind 6-0 to start and never led, Live Oak erased an early 3-0 deficit and got into a seesaw battle with the Lady Chargers with the game tied at 16-all midway. O.P. Walker, behind some offensive plays by Spears at the net and Green at the service line (back-to-back aces) took a four-point lead at 20-16 and again at 21-17. Beginning with a kill by senior Lashawnda Odum, an ace by Hailey Callahan and a kill by Katelyn Borne, the Lady Eagles had gotten back in the game and trailed by only one point. The visitors, which at times were prone to make their share of mental mistakes, gave Live Oak two straight points on a net serve and failed return and then Borne delivered a service ace to give the Lady Eagles the lead at 24-23.

Although the games are to 25, the winner must win by two, thus the back-and-forth began, with O.P. Walker taking leads on four different occasions, only to see Live Oak reach deep into their bag with a kill by Valarie Aucoin, two kills by Odum and another by Aucoin to give the Lady Eagles their second game-point opportunity, this time at 30-29. With senior Jordyn Olson serving for the Lady Eagles, junior outside hitter Tori Bankston had a block at the net for the game-winner. Live Oak was unable to parlay that big win into Game 3, as O.P. Walker took back control of the next game and coasted to a 25-13 win to go up 2-1. The Lady Chargers and Lady Eagles battled tooth-and-nail early on in Game 4 with the game tied at 9-all, but O.P. Walker went on an offensive rampage and outscored Live Oak 16-5 down the stretch to win 25-14 to take the match.

Spears led the Lady Chargers with 15 kills and 29 digs, while Wallace had 15 kills, Gabrielle Carter 34 assists and Green four aces. Callahan, who was taken out of her game early on, led Live Oak with eight kills and 12 digs, followed by Ashtyn Waguespack with six kills, four blocks and four digs and Odum with five kills and two blocks. Aucoin chipped in with three kills, two aces and five digs, while Kierra Hayes had four aces and 18 assists. O.P. Walker, which improved to 31-12 on the year, advanced to the quarterfinals to take on Assumption.
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WATSON - Although Live Oak got swept by Central 3-0 in the regular-season finale for its lone district loss, the Lady Eagles had already mopped up their previous nine league opponents to have sewn up the Division II, District 3 title outright prior to that Thursday night match. LOHS, under first-year head coach Jamie Colombo finished 9-1 in district play, including a 3-1 win over Istrouma last Thursday to lay claim to the championship. It was Live Oak's second straight league title, however the Lady Eagles had to share the championship with Zachary a year ago. Brittany Knight was the head coach last season, but turned over the reins to her assistant Colombo. LOHS will carry a 24-9 overall record into the playoffs, with 32-team playoff bracket being drawn up on Tuesday morning. Junior Hailey Callahan had 15 kills and 12 digs, as Live Oak won a grueling match over Istrouma 25-23, 25-27, 26-24, 25-17. Senior Lashawnda Odum had 13 kills and two blocks, while junior Kierra Hayes had 25 assists. Callahan was limited to just seven kills with 10 against Central in a 25-21, 25-18, 25-17 road loss to the Lady Wildcats. Hayes helped pace the Lady Eagles' offensive effort with 10 assists.
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WATSON - Live Oak took a major step towards the goal of winning the Division II, District 3 title, as the Lady Eagles put themselves in the driver's seat Tuesday. Live Oak took a 25-19, 18-25, 25-18, 25-12 win over Central in volleyball action Tuesday night in the Lady Eagles' gym. Avenging a championship loss earlier in the season to Central at the finals of the Istrouma Slamin' Classic tourney, Live Oak completed the first round of league play unbeaten at 5-0, while improving to 17-7 overall. The Lady Eagles, which entered the match ranked No. 8 in the latest unofficial "power-point" ranking system, have a one-game lead over Glen Oaks (ranked No. 11) in the district race. Central, which was ranked No. 10, fell to 3-2 in district and 18-13 overall. The Lady Wildcats' other league loss came at the hands of Glen Oaks. Tied at one game apiece and knotted at 17-all in the third game, junior middle-hitter Katelyn Borne made a couple big plays at the net for Live Oak, first with a kill and then a finesse tip at the net to give the Lady Eagles a 19-17 lead. A couple of failed returns by Central off the serves of Lady Eagle senior Jordyn Olson added two more points to the cushion before Central finally broke serve on a crosscourt kill by Casey Brown. Live Oak junior Tori Bankston then matched that with a crosscourt kill to quickly break Tremillia Kelly's serve and then Borne took the service line and teammate Ashtyn Waguespack stood guard at the net to wrap up a Lady Eagle win in Game 3. Waguespack first scored on a block and then delicately dropped in the final point for the 25-18 win. What momentum Central had gained in its Game 2 win all but disappeared, as junior Valarie Aucoin served up the first two points in Game 4 and the Lady Eagles never trailed in the final game. Waguespack picked up where she had left off in Game 3 with a block for a point, followed by a kill. A few points later, junior Hailey Callahan added to Live Oak's lead with a pair of kills, sandwiched around a monster smash by senior Lashawnda Odum. Central stayed within striking range through the early parts of the final game, but Lady Wildcat miscued, coupled by a strong offensive finish by Waguespack, Aucoin and Callahan both on the court and behind the service line. Callahan, who led the Lady Eagles with 12 kills and five aces, collected both down the stretch, including serving up the match-winning ace.

"I think the big difference in the third and fourth game was that our passing was much better than in the second game that we lost," said LOHS head coach Jamie Colombo. "I told them if they wanted to win the game that they had to pass the ball to run our offense and that's what they did." Junior Kierra Hayes had a team-high 19 assists for the Lady Eagles, while senior Jordyn Olson had 11.
"They stayed tough, even though they lost the second game," said Colombo. "They regrouped, I got them back together and refocused and told them that the goal was to win district. And if they wanted to win district, they had to come out and win that third game. "I told them even if they made one mistake, to blow it off, get it behind them and correct it the next time and that's what they did," said Colombo. "Nobody got themselves down and they played together as a team. And that was the big difference."

Aucoin finished the match with nine kills and 10 digs, while Waguespack led the team in blocks with five, followed by Borne with four and Odum two. Odum also had four kills and two aces on the night, while junior Tori Bankston had five kills. Borne backed up Aucoin defensively with nine digs, while Callahan and Olson had five digs apiece. Live Oak and Central were in a nip-and-tuck opening game before a one-handed stab for a point off the fist of Waguespack ignited an 8-3 run by the Lady Eagles to build a 22-14 lead. Borne, Odum and Aucoin all picked up kills in the spurt, while Callahan had a crosscourt winner and a service ace. With Live Oak needing just one point to close out the first game, Central made a mini-run by scoring four straight points, until the Lady Wildcats weren't able to return a finesse shot by Olson, thus ending the game at 25-19.

Central got off to a blazing start in Game 11 off the serves of Dylan Wilson, as the Lady Wildcats scored the first eight points, four of which came on aces. Central led by as many as 11 points on three different occasions in the game, before the Lady Eagles made a late run as Callahan served up five straight points, including two on aces. Central's Kelly ended the game with an ace for a 25-18 Lady Wildcat win. Game 3 seesawed back and forth over the first combined 34 points, with Bankson, Callahan and Aucoin leading the offense for Live Oak, while Central once again picked up four service aces early on and combined that with some defensive miscues on behalf of the Lady Eagles. Kelly paced Central's effort with 11 kills, four aces and 18 digs, while Brown had four kills, 12 digs and 12 assists. Rachel Barber, the Lady Wildcats' 'Libero," led the defense with 20 digs.

"It feels good, but at the same time, you can't underestimate anybody," said Colombo. "Any given day, anybody's beatable. We just have to stay focused and play our game. We need to take every game like the other team is going to beat us. Just play our game, passing the ball, setting the ball and play together as a team."
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BATON ROUGE - The Live Oak High School volleyball team continues to reach milestones in the infancy of their program, as the Lady Eagles reached the finals of a tournament for the first time ever over the weekend. Live Oak however, came up short against Central in the finals of the Istrouma Slammin' Classic at Istrouma High School. The Lady Eagles jumped out to a one-game lead in the best of three match with a 25-21 win, but the Lady Wildcats won the next two games by scores of 25-21 and 15-8 to take home the tournament title. Live Oak will get a chance in a couple of weeks to avenge that loss to Central, as the two programs are in the same Division II district this year.

"I think the success in the Istrouma tournament was exactly what the girls need to boost their confidence going into district," said head coach Jamie Colombo, who took over the leadership of the program this year in the absence of Brittany Knight. "But the last two games before district are extremely important as well. It will give us momentum gong into district play, as well as to make any adjustments necessary to win district." The Lady Eagles, which improved to 10-7 overall after taking five of its six matches at Istrouma, wrap up their non-district slate this week, first at Zachary this past Wednesday and at home this evening against Runnels. Live Oak opens district play inside the Lady Eagles' gym next Tuesday against Scotlandville and then will be on the road the following Thursday at Glen Oaks. Istrouma, Central and Hammond round out the district, which will have two rounds of action this season. The Lady Eagles played three of those league opponents in the IHS tourney, defeating both Scotlandville and Glen Oaks in pool-play action, before falling to Central in the championship match.

Senior LaShawnda Odom led Live Oak's offensive effort against Central with nine kills and two blocks for points, while junior Katelyn Borne finished with four service aces. Junior Valarie Aucoin led the Lady Eagles in digs with 12, while fellow junior teammate Kierra Hayes and senior Jordyn Olson tied for assists with nine each. Live Oak's junior outside hitter Hailey Callahan, who was named to the "All Tournament" team, paced the Lady Eagles in their 25-15, 25-17 semifinal win over Zachary with 11 kills, while Odom had two blocks and senior Kaylie Hansen scored with a pair of aces. Aucoin kept the Lady Broncos' offensive in check with 17 digs, while Hayes matched that number with 17 assists.

In quarterfinal action, Live Oak defeated Baker 25-12, 25-10, with Callahan leading the way in kills with eight, while sharing top honors in digs with Aucoin with nine apiece. Aucoin also chipped in with three service aces. Olson was in double-digits in assists with 11. The Lady Eagles went 3-0 in pool-play, with wins over Scotlandville (25-12, 25-15), Zachary (25-10, 25-17) and Glen Oaks (27-25, 25-22). Callahan had six kills and four digs in the win over Scotlandville, while Hayes had 13 assists and one ace. Aucoin led the attack against Zachary with eight kills and four aces, while Callahan had seven kills and Ashtyn Waguespack two blocks. Waguespack injured her ankle and did not play in any of the bracket-play matches on Saturday. Olson finished with a team-high 13 assists, while Kaylie Hansen had four digs.

In the final pool-play win over Glen Oaks, Callahan and Aucoin finished with seven kills apiece, while Aucoin added four aces to her offensive attack. Borne led the Lady Eagles in digs with 10, while Hayes was tops in assists with 11. "So far this season, we started out strong, then struggled in some games, but the Istrouma tournament was turnaround," said Colombo. "We need to just focus one game at a time now, continue to work on our communication skills on the court and most of all, continue to play together as a team."
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WATSON - Live Oak's volleyball program's only head coach Britney (Gerald) Knight has stepped off the court this season to take care of her infant child. Lady Eagles three-year assistant coach Jamie Colombo has stepped into the head-coaching slot with hopes of dealing with a bundle of joy as well. Just when Colombo was scratching to find replacements for three graduating starters, two of them all-district players, she got a delivery as well with three volleyball players moving into the LOHS area.

Live Oak is coming off its best season ever, sharing the district title and making the playoffs. Shawn Whaley, the district MVP and Lauren Wolfanger, who combined for nearly 400 kills last season, are gone, as is starter Kelsey Hutchinson. Senior Jordyn Olson is a returning all-district player who led the team in assists last year with 429, along with 228 digs, 55 kills and 22 aces.Junior Valarie Aucoin is another returning starter who led the team in digs last fall with 302. She has also stepped up her offensive game this year, along with her 5-foot-9 stature and leaping ability to lead the Lady Eagles at the net. Junior Tori Bankston joins Aucoin up front, along with 5-foot-10 Acadiana High School transfer Ashytyn Waguespack at middle-blocker and equally tall senior Lashawnda Odum, a newcomer from the Lake Charles area who is currently first off the bench and will likely see plenty of action. The back-court has Olson heading up the setters, junior Hailey Callahan as outside hitter and junior Katelyn Borne as middle-hitter and defensive specialist. Another newcomer, Kierra Hayes, who played for St. Michael's the Archangel last season, is a junior setter, along with senior defensive specialist Kaylie Hansen and junior defensive specialist Kaycie Wolfanger.

"This is the biggest team we've ever had," said Colombo. "They have everything it takes to win. It's just going to come down to communication on the floor. If they play together as a team and everything falls into place, we have the talent to win." Although Live Oak High School athletics moved up to the 5A classification this year, the volleyball program will continue to participate at the Division II level and be a part of a district that will include Central, Hammond, Scotlandville, Istrouma and Glen Oaks. "This district will be competitive," said Colombo. "There are a lot of talented teams in there. There will definitely be a lot of extremely exciting games to watch. "Up until last year, Live Oak had never won a district match and we end up being co-champions," said Colombo. "I hope it proved to the girls that they can win district every year. It's not only just a goal of ours to win district, but I think they feel now that they truly can accomplish it. They can now go into every game knowing they can win today." LOHS and Zachary finished tied for the league title last season, but the Lady Eagles won the tiebreaker and a better seeding heading into the playoffs. Live Oak fell in the first round to Vandebilt Catholic to finish the year 17-11 overall.

Since Colombo has been with the program for the previous three years, the transition has been easy. "Everything we did last year, we're going to do this year," said Colombo. "This past summer in the Denham Springs High School Volleyball League, we lost just one match. I think we've got a lot more talent this year than last and I feel we're jelling right now." Prior to coming to LOHS, Colombo spent five years at St. Bernard High School as head volleyball coach. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Colombo came to Live Oak High School. The Chalmette native played both volleyball and softball in high school and then two years of Division I college volleyball at the University of New Orleans.

Lady Eagles sweep at LSD Jamboree

BATON ROUGE - It was short and sweet for the Lady Eagles in their jamboree three-way Tuesday afternoon as Live Oak defeated the host Louisiana School for the Deaf, Tara and Bethany Christian all by the scores of 18-4. Junior Hailey Callahan got Live Oak off to a quick 6-0 start against LSD with a pair of aces in her seven game-opening serves, while Valarie Aucoin and Ashtyn Waguespack handled the two LSD returns with a kill and finesse tip at the net respectively. After LSD scored two straight points, Live Oak's Kierra Hayes served up seven straight points, including three aces. Lashawnda Odum, who subbed in from off the bench, added a pair of kills. With the score at 13-4, Waguespack finished the game for Live Oak, with three of five serves falling for aces, while Aucoin picked up a kill. Callahan started the Lady Eagles' second game against Tara back at the service line, this time firing in five aces to shoot Live Oak off to an 8-0 start. Later with the Lady Eagles up 10-4, Waguespack nearly camped out at the service line, serving up the final eight points of the contest, including two aces. Callahan chipped in with a crosscourt kill, while Odum closed out the game with a one-handed spike.

In Live Oak's final game against Bethany, Kaycie Wolfanger began at the service line and helped the Lady Eagles off to a 5-0 start. Waguespack and Aucoin both collected kills in the opening spurt, while Wolfanger had one ace. Up 6-3, Hayes backed up behind the service line and dished up two aces, before a fourth serve went long. Live Oak quickly grabbed back the serve after a kill by Odum and Waguespack finished off the game by delivering the final eight points. Aucoin dominated play upfront with three kills down the stretch, while Odum and Kaylie Hansen had one each.
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Live Oak High Volleyball