Freshman Kacey Moore prepares serves against JPG. 

The Acadiana Christian School volleyball team began the 2024 Association of Christian Educators of Louisiana season off on the right foot, defeating John Paul the Great Academy in straight sets.

The Lions, who made an impressive run at the state championship in 2023 before losing 3-1 to Southwest Louisiana Homeschool Athletics in the final, will feel as if they have unfinished business to make up for this year.

“We set goals as a team working backwards from the biggest goal,” explained head coach Brigette Boudreaux. “We definitely are trying for the state championship, the winners and not just making it there. We went backwards from there to determine what we have to do and it’s just beat the teams that we’re supposed to beat and maybe pull off a few games that we aren’t. After that it’s just serving and passing well.”

The road to the state championship game began almost as soon as last season ended, with Boudreaux and her returning players continuing where they left off in other sports and working hard on the volleyball court over the summer.

With a full roster returning, Boudreaux was able to bolster her team with several new players, including one she had previously coached at Highland Baptist.

“Yvette (Olivier) came in this year and she hasn’t played since she was a freshman, so I wasn’t sure if it was going to work having her run my offense while being so inexperienced,” Boudreaux said of the multi-sport star from HBCS. “She proved herself tonight. I moved Kacey Moore to the outside, which she is better suited for, and we added Addy Moore, who is totally new to the program. Tylar Moore has moved up from the middle school program this year as well. She’s only in the eighth grade, but I wanted to add some height to the team. Those players are going to boost the team because we have everyone returning from last year.”

Against JPG, the Lions team looked every bit the better program. While the opening game featured the usual start-of-season jitters, ACS was able to quickly settle into the game to win 25-11.

“There’s always a little bit of nerves and second-guessing yourself,” Boudreaux said of the opening set. “When that first serve comes over, you focus so much on handling it right that sometimes you mess up, but I knew that they would be able to put it back together.”

ACS made short work of set two, winning 25-13, before claiming a 25-19 victory in the third set to secure the win.

Junior Yvette Olivier was named player of the game with 14 assists and six digs. Juniors Kennedi Broussard (6 kills, 10 digs, 3 aces) and Addi Boudreaux (13 digs, 3 aces) also impressed, as did freshman Kacey Moore (4 kills, 3 digs).

Jazmyn James (2 kills, 3 digs), Brylynn Archon (2 kills), Addy Moore (1 block), Tylar Moore (2 kills), Mackenzie Colar (2 digs) and Olivia Pellerin (2 digs) also contributed to the win.

Also playing a part in the team’s success was the support the Lions received from the fans. That support is something Boudreaux said has continued to grow at ACS.

“The culture around athletics at ACS has so much unity and excitement,” she said. “They support us all the way around and we’re starting to have crowded gyms. That helps the game when you have so much fan support. They’re not just playing for themselves now, they’re playing for the school.”

The Lions will return to action on Saturday when they travel to face Shreveport on the road.