Westlake High volleyball coach Gloria Fontenot believes strongly in her team.

She has every reason to as the Rams have won 11 matches in a row and 18 of their first 20. Westlake (18-2, 4-0) takes its blazing start into the home of one of Southwest Louisiana’s traditional powers, St. Louis (5-9, 3-0), for a crucial Division III, District 2 matchup at 5 p.m. today.

Westlake hasn’t been devoid of success as it made the state playoffs as a No. 9 seed last year.

But Fontenot’s group has grown up and features six seniors and a deep cast of underclassmen.

“The majority of the players returned,” Fontenot said. “They been there, done that. These seniors carry the team. The leadership, focus and drive have to be there.

“Coming back with that many (seniors) drives the team. There’s talent within them and behind them in the junior and sophomore classes too; that helps us.”

St. Louis is the opposite of Westlake in that it lost a lot of experience from a team that made the state tournament last season. While they entered district play with a losing record, the Saints saw a rough nondistrict slate that featured state powers such as Notre Dame, St. Thomas More and E.D. White.

“St. Louis is a good team,” Fontenot said. “Even on their worse year they’re going to be a good team. Luke (Pousson) is a great coach. He does a good job preparing them, and looking at their schedule that’s what he’s done. It’s a very, very hard schedule. That’s only going to make them stronger.

“Yes, they’re young and they’re going to make mistakes but they’re going to be stronger for it.”

Westlake, while also a strong team, is a pair of Iota losses from owning an unbeaten record. The Bulldogs (22-5) beat the Rams in a pair of tournament matches.

“Iota is the type of team you want to play as much as possible because they’re going to get you ready for the playoffs,” Fontenot said. “Playing them, they are a good, scrappy all-around team. They’ve got offense and defense. We’re very comparable to them and they pulled away for both wins.

“We (took) away from those games that we needed to get better offensively.”

Playing such quality gives Westlake the confidence to go into St. Louis’ gym and come out with a win.

“They’re going to be ready,” Fontenot said. “They go to state and do well every year. They know what it’s like to win and fight through. It’s going to be tough going into their house.

“Do I feel we can beat them? Absolutely. But I’m not going to underestimate them. We didn’t change anything; we’re going to do what we do.”(Rick Hickman/American Press)