CLAYMONT — When an attack from Caravel fell to the floor to conclude the third set of the DIAA first-round volleyball match on Nov. 2, Archmere found itself down, 2-1, and 25 points from elimination. But the 14th-seeded Auks played their strongest volleyball of the night in sets four and five, getting the 3-2 win and heading to the second round.
Set scores were 22-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-18, and 15-9.
The Auks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth, with Ceci Connolly opening by crushing a ball into the floor, and Ella Strohmaier adding an ace. The final two sets would not be won that easily, but Archmere did not trail after the end of the third.
Caravel, the 19th seed, climbed back into the fourth set, getting an ace from Katie Greenplate to cut the Auks’ lead to one at 5-4. Later in the set, another Strohmaier ace put the Auks up, 12-8, but the Buccaneers responded with a 3-0 run that concluded with a smash by Isabella Meekins. The Auks held on to a small lead before beginning to pull away slightly.
An impressive cross by Katie Kuehl put Archmere up, 18-14. The Bucs scored on an Auks error, but the next three points went to the hosts. Bridget Malloy won a 50/50 ball at the net, Daphne Addo smacked a kill, and Kylee Kluska added another ace to stretch the lead to 21-15. The set ended when a dig by Strohmaier fell to the floor.
The fifth set, a race to 15 points, started well for the Auks, as they started with a block by Addo on the way to a 4-1 lead. Caravel, however, stormed back, tying the set, 5-5, on a kill by Avery Hayden, followed by an Archmere attack error. The set was also tied at 6-6 and 7-7 before a tap by Kuehl landed on the right sideline to put the Auks in front to stay.
The Bucs trailed, 11-9, after an Auks error, but Archmere closed it out with the final four points. Connolly scored on a smash, then tapped one over the Buccaneers’ front line. After a timeout, Connolly’s dink got it to match point, which was scored on a Caravel attack error.
Final statistics were not available Friday morning. Archmere (10-6) advances to the second round on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at No. 3 Caesar Rodney. Tickets must be purchased online at https://gofan.co/app/school/DIAA.
Caravel finished the season 7-9.
All photos by Jason Winchell.
