WILMINGTON — Spectators curled around the corners of the gymnasium at Padua Academy on Sept. 19 to see a matchup of longtime volleyball rivals and ranked teams, and they were not disappointed. In the end, Saint Mark’s was a bit too strong for the Pandas, and they left Broom Street with a well-earned 3-1 win.
Set scores were 25-19, 24-26, 25-17, and 25-21.
The Pandas, ranked eighth by Delaware Live Sports, trailed the first set, 10-7, but an ace from Kaitlyn Leberstien began a 3-0 run that tied the score. A service error, however, started the second-ranked Spartans on a 7-0 run as they took control. Down seven, Padua cut the deficit to two, and they eventually got to within one.
But Blakely Stawicki had an attack blocked out of bounds, Taylor Holly served up an ace, and a Pandas attack error got the lead up to 22-18. The Spartans scored three of the last four points to take the set.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair that needed extra points to decide. A 7-1 run early turned a three-point deficit into a three-point lead, capped by an Aanya Yatavelli tip after a long rally. The teams were knotted, 12-12, before Reagan Garibaldi scored to restore an advantage for the Spartans. She followed with a block, but the Pandas would not go away.
Vanessa Mancini sent a push deep down the stretch to put Padua on top, 19-18, and a block from Libby Neiburg two points later stretched the lead to 21-18. The teams traded points before Garibaldi crushed a kill, Kat Pils scored on a push, and Pils added an ace to tie as the Spartans’ fans cheered. Two points later Saint Mark’s had set point, but the Pandas rebounded. With the score tied, 24-24, Yatavelli scored on a kill, and Neiburg crushed one to end the second and tie the match.
Yatavelli found open space early in the third set to give the Pandas an 8-7 advantage, but a service error and a bomb from Lauren Mehelas gave Saint Mark’s the lead for good. The Pandas were within a single point at 15-14, but two unforced Padua errors and a Stawicki kill opened the Spartans’ lead up a bit.
The Spartans finished the third on a 7-3 run. The stretch included a blast from Garibaldi, another Stawicki attack, a Lara Saints kill and, to wrap it up, a shot from Mehelas that tucked in just before the end line.
Saint Mark’s raced out to a 9-3 lead in the fourth, a start that featured two kills from Stawicki and an ace by Bethany Neidlein. The Spartans looked like they might run away with the set after they opened up a 21-13 lead thanks to a 6-0 run. Mehelas was responsible for three of those points with two blocks and a smash.
The Pandas, however, did not fold. Kaitlyn Maus had an ace, Yatavelli a kill and Avery Pilgre a stuff of an overpass during a 5-0 run. When Caroline Buggy delivered an ace, it was 23-21 Spartans. The Spartans, however, kept their composure, and Ava Borcky’s tap kill sent it to match point, with Garibaldi wrapping things up with her seventh block of the evening.
Stawicki had 11 kills and five blocks, and Mehelas had 11 kills and three aces. Taylor Holly finished with 37 digs, and Maddi Way had all 43 assists for the Spartans. Saint Mark’s improved to 4-0 and host Red Lion on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
For Padua, Yatavelli led with 11 kills, while Maus had five aces and 31 digs. As a team, Padua had 104 digs, and the Spartans had 96 as the defenses shined. The Pandas (1-3) travel to Caravel for a 6:15 p.m. start on Friday.
All photos by Mike Lang.
