LAFAYETTE — No. 5 Sam Houston jumped to an early lead at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state volleyball tournament on Thursday at the Cajundome, but No. 4 Northshore won three consecutive sets to finish off the Broncos in four sets.

The Panthers (26-14) won 24-26, 25-19, 25-18, 25-21 in the Division I quarterfinals and will face the winner of the No. 1 Dominican vs. No. 9 Archbishop Chapelle match in today’s semifinals.

“I think they were just a little more hesitant than they needed to be to go ahead and put some things together,” said Sam Houston head coach Rene Fontenot. “They were thinking instead of playing.

“(Northshore runs) a fast offense, so we had a lot of busted blocks. Those sets were coming in low and we were still in transition. We were either late on the block or moving defensively, which caused some problems for us.”

Fontenot said she’s excited about the Broncos’ future.

“I am really excited about the group because we are only losing one, and there are three sophomores in that lineup,” she said. “We still have great players, but they are so young. Some of that shows at times, but it is a talented group and a close group.”

Sam Houston (30-11) was playing in the state tournament for the first time since 2016 and trailed 3-0 in the first set, but rallied with a 7-1 run for a two-point lead on a Kat Manuel kill. The Broncos were a point away from losing the first set but closed with a 4-0 run with the help of a pair of kills by sophomore Carolina Eidson. Ava Henry and Eidson finished with 15 kills each for the Broncos. Kat Manuel had 49 assists and six blocks. Henry had eight blocks, Bailey Foolkes had 23 digs.

Sam Houston never led in the second set but managed to tie it at 16- 16 before the Panthers closed with a 9-3 run.

In the third set, Sam Houston senior Cadence Mathews closed the gap to 19-18 with a kill from the right side, but the Panthers wrapped it up with a 6-0 run.

Sam Houston led for most of the fourth set and had a 19-18 lead after a kill by Addison Melendy, but again the Panthers finished with a 7-2 run to close out the match.

Northshore 24-25-25-25

Sam Houston 26-19-18-21

Sam Houston (30-11): Carolina Eidson (15 kills), Ava Henry (15 kills, 8 blocks), Kat Manuel (49 assists, 6 blocks), Bailey Foolkes (23 digs), Anna Claire Norris (14 digs). Northshore (26-14): Tierney Terrell (16 kills, 14 digs), Reese Jobert (15 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces), Emily Martin (54 assist, 2 aces, 14 digs), Liv Hartdegen (22 digs).