MILLTOWN — The DIAA volleyball tournament bracket said this wasn’t supposed to be very close. Ursuline was the 14th seed, while Wilmington Friends checked in at No. 6. But the Raiders’ game improved steadily as the season went along, and they were coming in off an upset of the third seed, Red Lion. They gave the Quakers everything they could handle, with Friends advancing to the semifinals on Nov. 11 with a tough 3-0 sweep.
Set scores were 25-20, 26-24, 26-24.
The loss ended the Raiders’ season and also the storied coaching career of Sue Heiss, who spent 38 seasons leading Ursuline. Her team went out playing its trademark defense that enabled it to stick with the powerful Quakers.
The Raiders jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first with the help of a Sarah Villaverde ace, a lead they were able to keep through the first third of the set. Led by Reena Robinson, the Quakers fought back, forging a 9-9 tie thanks to consecutive kills by the senior.
After Samiah Sudler-Brooks brought the Raiders to within a point at 13-12, the Quakers went on a 4-0 run that included another Robinson kill and a surprise attack from setter Natalie Bush. But the Raiders weren’t fazed, and Hannah Kelley led them back to an 18-18 tie. Ursuline took a 20-19 lead, but that was it for their scoring. The Quakers, meanwhile, tied on another Bush attack, and they got kills from Eleanor Dealy, Violet Perloff and Robinson down the stretch before a hitting error ended set.
Kelley’s smash opened the second set, which also favored Ursuline early. But the second was a dogfight, with 15 ties and no lead greater than three points. Faith Kleitz was clutch for the Raiders, scoring on a variety of kills, and a number of other players contributed, including Ava Panunto and Kate Kardash, who scored early on a kill and later with an ace that put the Raiders ahead, 20-18.
After Robinson scored on a cross to make it 20-19, Ursuline used an unforced error and a Kelley block to build a three-point advantage. But Friends was not ruffled. They scored four in a row before the Raiders tied at 23. Kelley tipped one off the tape and in to give Ursuline set point, but Abby Carian scored on a tip to tie. Dealy was successful tipping one over to get to set point for the Quakers, and Carian turned a set behind her into a winning crossing shot.
It was more of the same in the third, with the score tied 10 times. The defense was inspiring, with Jocelyn Nathan patrolling the back line for the Quakers, and Maddie Williams all over the floor for the Raiders. The defenses made sure every point was earned, and players from both teams managed to find the floor.
Friends took a rare two-point lead at 15-13 on a Nathan ace, but Kelley answered with a blast, and an attack error tied it. Dealey went down the middle to put the Quakers back on top, and a Raiders miscue extended the lead to a pair. The Quakers eventually built the lead to three at 21-18, their biggest advantage since the score was 5-2.
Kardash began the comeback with a bomb, and a few points later, Kelley tied the score at 22 with a tip over the Quakers’ front line. A Friends error lifted Ursuline into the lead, and another sent it to set point. But Friends got kills from Carian down the middle and from Perloff down the right sideline, and after a Raiders error made it match point, Carian sent a cross off the tape to lift the Quakers into the semifinals once again.
Robinson had 14 kills and 15 digs for the Quakers, while Carian had 11 kills and digs. Nathan led the team with 31 digs, and she added three aces. Friends (RECORD) will play the third seed, Padua, the second semifinal on Thursday at approximately 7:30 p.m. from Saint Mark’s. Friends defeated the Pandas on DATE.
For the Raiders (9-8), Kelley and Kleitz each had eight kills, while Williams finished with 15 kills and Grace Burns had 12 digs, Kelley led the way with three blocks.
All photos by Mike Lang.
