Members of the Catholic High and Ascension Episcopal volleyball teams celebrate a $1,356 donation made to the Lega-C Scholarship Foundation.

The Catholic High volleyball team entered their Tuesday night matchup against Ascension Episcopal as the favorites, but with one of the Lady Panthers’ best hitters still nursing a knee injury, the game could’ve gone either way.

After five grueling sets, Catholic High came out on top.

The Lady Panthers dropped the opening game by five points to last year’s Division V semifinalists, losing 25-20. CHS quickly answered back with a win of their own, dominating the second set for a 25-12 win.

The pendulum swung back again in game three, with Catholic High losing out 25-19 before rallying back in the fourth to a 25-16 win. With the game tied up at two sets apiece, it was anyone’s guess who was going to win in the final set of the night.

Led by hitter Saniya Raheem and setter Reese Molbert, the Lady Panthers were able to fight their way to a narrow two-point lead to win the final set 17-15.

Catholic High head coach Gary Westcott credited the performance from Ascension.

“A hard-played five-setter where we were fortunate to come out on top,” he said of the game. “AES played extremely well tonight but our girls stepped up when they needed to.”

The win was made extra special by a postgame donation to the Lega-C Scholarship Foundation. The charity, created to honor the memory of Delcambre native and Ascension Episcopal coach Celie LeBlanc Ulm, who passed away from cancer in March of 2023.

Proceeds from the game totaling $1,356 were awarded to the Lega-C Scholarship Foundation to further the charity’s mission of providing yearly scholarships to deserving seniors in the Acadiana area.

Saniya Raheem led the team in kills with 22, adding an additional nine digs to her tally alongside one assist and one ace. Setter Reese Molbert ended the night with 44 assists, 38 digs, two kills and three aces.

Anna Kate Minvielle (11 kills, 1 dig, 1 assist), Amelie Trappey (9 kills, 2 aces, 16 digs, 1 assist), Addison Delcambre (24 digs, 3 aces, 4 assists) and Addisyn Derouen (7 kills, 1 block, 1 ace, 11 digs, 1 assist) also contributed to the win.

The win moved Catholic High to 15-7 on the season ahead of a Wednesday night game against Sacred Heart Grand Coteau. The Lady Panthers are currently the No. 10 seed in Division III.