With a veteran group led by five seniors, Destrehan is battle-tested already this volleyball season.
The Ladycats are 4-7 thus far, but the slate of teams faced has been full of very strong competition and programs perennially in the hunt – Sacred Heart, St. Michael, Lutcher and Country Day among them.
Destrehan went 15-15 last season and reached the state playoffs as the No. 24 seed before falling to Southside in the opening round. This year’s Wildcats are looking to take it further.
“We have a very strong group of seniors leading the way for us,” said Destrehan head coach Miranda Kelley. “We’ve been working hard all summer and came out ready to play from the first match. Right now, we’re figuring out what works best for us. I think a lot of that work is starting to pay off.”
Destrehan won two of its first three matches this season, beating Covenant Christian and Baton Rouge but losing to Riverside Academy, the two wins in four sets and the loss in five.
“We had a pretty strong start to the season,” Kelley said. “And there have been a few bumps in the road since, things we’re working out and addressing right now.”
The tough matchups should only make the Wildcats better as the season rolls on, Kelley said.
“We have to learn and improve from every one of these matches. We have some very strong competitors in our district,” Kelley said. “The good thing right now is we’re playing some great teams and I’m seeing our girls make the kind of plays that you normally see more toward the end of the season, so the progress is there and it’s pretty exciting.”
Kelley said the team’s senior leadership has proven a strength. Vivien Brouillette, Remi Foster, Harmony Howard, Kami Johnson and Honesty Miller have each entered their final season together determined to make it count.
“This is their last year and they want to leave that legacy,” Kelley said. “They’re all kind of taking on that younger group and mentoring them.”
Howard and Brouillette led the team in hitting last season and are the offensive focal points again in 2025.
“We have them attacking from the front row and the back row. Which is really great when we’re out of system because we can work it to either of them in those scenarios and they’re both ready to take those big swings,” Kelley said.
The two outside hitters work together quite well.
“A lot of times we see athletes where they’re fighting to get more sets, more chances … they work together and communicate with each other, especially with that back row/front row dynamic between them. They’re really communicating those adjustments they see throughout a match,” Kelley said.
On Monday, Destrehan beat South Terrebonne 20-25, 25-16, 25-14 and 25-18.
The Wildcats dropped the first set but bounced back strong from there – and fighting through adversity is a point of emphasis for Destrehan.
“Good attitudes can affect us and bad attitudes can affect us. Our mindset is strong,” said Kelley. “You can be the most talented individual in the world, but if you don’t have the right mindset, you’re just going to hold yourself back. We lost that first set but we didn’t let that hold us back, we made sure that we came out stronger and more ready the next set. We fortunately made the adjustments we needed to make and were able to pull out three in a row.”
Victoria Morrow had a team-high 15 digs. Foster had 31 assists and six aces. Howard made 13 kills while Hannah Chiasson made five blocks.
