NEWARK – Saint Mark’s shook off a disappointing first set loss, storming back to win the next three over Caravel on Nov. 6 at the Bob Carpenter Center in a DIAA volleyball semifinal, securing a chance to play for the state championship with a 3-1 win. Set scores were 16-25, 25-22, 25-18, and 25-22.
The Spartans, the 16th seed in the tournament, defeated their third straight opponent among the top eight in the field. Caravel entered as the fourth seed. Saint Mark’s opened the postseason at home with a sweep of No. 17 Indian River, then took down No. 1 Caesar Rodney and No. 8 Smyrna, both on the road.
The match opened on a positive note for the Spartans as Maddi Way (St. John the Beloved Parish) served up an ace. But Caravel junior Izzy Meekins, who has verbally committed to play collegiately at James Madison University, asserted herself, delivering two kills and a block to put the Bucs on top, 4-2.
Their lead grew from there. Aubrie Emerson scored on a smash to extend the lead to 10, and sophia Fisher followed with an ace. Saint Mark’s saved several set points before Katie Greenplate ended the set with a bomb.
Ava Bojarski scored on consecutive kills early in the second, and Way went for another ace as the Spartans opened up a 4-1 lead. The set was close into the middle stages, usually within a point or two once Caravel erased the early Saint Mark’s advantage. The Spartans began to pull away, taking a 19-14 lead on an attack from Maya Frohnapfel. Caitlin Hoban (St. John the Beloved Parish) and Adriana Morris (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) helped the Spartans go up six, 22-16.
But this time, it was Caravel’s turn to climb back. Briana Sharpless ended a 4-0 run with a push to open space to cut the lead to 22-18, but a service error and a kill from Gia Pezzullo pushed it to set point. After two Bucs saves, Pezzullo was blocked out of bounds to tie the match.
After ties at every point through 6-6, Saint Mark’s gradually took control of the third set. Hoban was a key in the third, helping neutralize Meekins, the tallest player on the floor. Hoban also had the attack that got the Spartans to set point, and Frohnapfel ended the third with a blast.
Laura Garrett’s ace early in the fourth set put the Spartans on top, 4-1, but Caravel was not ready to give in. The Buccaneers eventually tied the score, 7-7, when Greenplate aced one, and they kept right on going into the lead, getting it to 10-8 on a Fisher ace. But Pezzullo was right there to lead the counter-attack for Saint Mark’s, and the teams were tied a few times in the middle stages of the fourth.
A 5-1 Spartans run gave them a 17-14 advantage, prompting a Caravel timeout. The Bucs scored out of the break, but Morris hit an ace, and Hoban had another kill as the small lead grew. Caravel made one last push, cutting the Spartans’ lead to 23-22 after a Saint Mark’s violation, but Pezzullo capped off her excellent night with one last smash, and Garrett wrapped it up with an ace.
Saint Mark’s (15-4) will meet the seventh seed, Tower Hill in the final on Nov. 7 at the Bob. The Hillers have defeated the Spartans in each of the last three tournaments, twice in the final (2022, 2024) and once in the semifinal. The match begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.bluehens.com.
Caravel finished the season 12-6.
Photos by Mike Lang.
