Sam Houston will make its first back-to-back appearance in more than a decade at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state volleyball tournament and look to improve on last year’s one-and-done trip to the Cajundome in Lafayette.

The No. 5 Broncos (35-7) will play No. 4 Slidell at 6:10 p.m. Thursday in the Division I quarterfinals. The winner will advance to play the No. 1 Dominican (40-2) and No. 9 Fontainebleau (26-15) winner in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The last time Sam Houston made back-to-back trips to the state tournament was when it made three consecutive appearances from 2007-09. Sam Houston lost to Northshore in the quarterfinals last year in four sets despite winning the opening set 26-24.

“I am excited for the kids, our school and the program because it is nice to go back to back,” Sam Houston head coach Rene Fontenot said. “It has been a while.

“I think because they were there last year, maybe just the sheer magnitude of being there won’t be such a big deal. I mean, it is no matter what it is on that stage. I am really glad it is just in Lafayette and we are not having to travel three hours away to the Pontchartrain Center (in Kenner).

“ULL does a great job of running it, so hopefully the fact that we were there last year we will know what to do. We will know what the warm-ups will look like, where we are going for pregame and what pictures feel like.”

Fontenot said he’s hoping her team can handle the noise in the Cajundome as their match will be situated on center court between a pair of Division II matches involving two Lafayette-area teams, St. Thomas More and Teurlings Catholic.

“We just really have to be trustworthy,” Fontenot said. “It is going to be hard to hear. … There is a (Louisiana-Lafayette) home football game, so traffic is going to be crazy.

“I think they need to trust what we have done. They are going to have to trust their teammates that they are going to do their job and not reach out after balls and throw kinks in our game because they overplay. I hope nerves don’t get the best of them. That was a factor last year.”

In their first year under the guidance of respected head coach Danny Tullis, Slidell (34-5) is making its first trip to the state tournament since 2016. In 17 seasons with Pope John Paul II and Fontainebleau, Tullis won six state championships and finished as the runner-up four times.

“He is definitely an impactful coach, and that shows,” Fontenot said of Tulles. “Northshore last year in the quarterfinals was a winnable game, and so is this match against Slidell.

“If we are both playing well, it should be a great match. It looks to be that we are pretty comparable. I have looked at enough game film.”

Sam Houston’s front row of Ava Henry, Aubrey Portie, Mallory Wills and Addison Melendy will match up Slidell’s Reagan Robinson, Ava Barduca and Kayla Rachel.

“They have played a tough schedule in that New Orleans area and they have a couple of dominant hitters and competent defensive players,” Fontenot said. “There are some weaknesses that we can play on. They are definitely a well-prepared team.”

Having to deal with injuries and illness the last month, Fontenot said she’s hoping the Broncos will have a stable lineup.

“They are very similar to us, and I am hopeful because we were kind of like wounded ducks through Saturday’s match with what I felt to be lineup No. 573,” Fontenot said. “We had two kids out with the flu, then a whole different lineup than we have ever run.

“I am very hopeful that we are getting back to a normal lineup and I can stop switching kids. These kids can do so much. When you have three kids that set and can run an advanced offense, as a coach, I feel lucky to have one in my career, and I have three.

“The kids are not just attackers. They are not just a middle or an outside (hitter). They can also play defense, and that has served us well this season. Because of different things, we have had to tap into those resources. That is part of why we have been successful this year.”