CLAYMONT – Second-ranked Archmere remained unbeaten in volleyball with a sweep of No. 6 Newark Charter in a key Diamond State Athletic Conference match on Oct. 5. The Auks remain the only undefeated team in the conference thanks to the 25-11, 25-22, 25-18 triumph. They are now 5-0 in the DSAC and 10-0 overall.
The Auks got off to a great start in the first set as Sydney Niumataiwalu served back-to-back aces right out of the gate. Then Archmere’s size took over as Lauren Edmiston had a block, Julia Kochie had three kills, and Faith Merritt added two kills as the lead grew to 17-3.
The Patriots went on a four-point run and scored six of the next 10 to cut the deficit to 12 at 21-9 after a kill by Chloe Rogers. The Auks kept the pressure on, with a kill and a block taking it to set point at 24-11. Archmere won the set on a Newark Charter hitting error.
The Patriots came out strong in the secont set, taking a quick 4-1 lead courtesy of the strong serving of Aubrey Celeste and the defense of Rogers. But Kochie took over, picking up seven kills out of the next 13 Auks points as the home team went ahead, 14-8. The Patriots responded with a nice run, cutting the score to 18-15 behind some big kills from Abigail Carbajal. Archmere reached set point at 24-19, but the Patriots scored three straight before another hitting error gave the Auks the set.
In the third set, the Auks controlled the beginning of the set, racing out to a 9-3 lead. Newark Charter cut that lead in half, with a Rogers block making it 10-7. The Auks, however, kept their distance thanks to the hitting of Kochie, Edmiston and Abigail Kates. They ended the match on a nice kill from Edmiston.
Kochie led the Auks with 19 kills, while Edmiston had seven. The defense was led by Hannah Wright, who had 20 digs, while Niumataiwalu chipped in with 10. Kates had six blocks. Archmere hosts St. Mark’s on Monday night at 6:15 p.m. It is a Dig Purple game, with bracelets being sold to raise money to battle pediatric stroke.
The Patriots (7-3) got eight kills from Carbajal and seven from Rogers. Melissa Sharp had 18 digs. They host Conrad on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
