WILMINGTON — Archmere’s volleyball team faced its stiffest test of the season on Sept. 16 at Delaware Military Academy, and the Auks passed. Despite losing a two-set advantage, they bounced back for the win in a five-set thriller against the Seahawks.
Set scores were 25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 20-25, and 15-11. It was one of five matches in Delaware on the day that went the distance.
Except for the second set, which was won convincingly by the Auks, this one was a tight affair throughout.
The biggest lead for either team for most of the first set was two points. The Auks and Seahawks were tied at 20, and a few points later, a violation on DMA pushed Archmere’s lead to 23-21. The Seahawks were able to save one set point, but Bridget Malloy (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Glen Mills, Pa.) threw up a block for the clincher.
Grace Mahoney (Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish), who had a stellar night on the attack for the Auks, helped her team build a sizeable lead in the second. In the middle of the set, Mahoney scored on consecutive attacks that left the gym buzzing. The Auks scored the final five points of the set, with Brooke Maddox getting the winning kill.
Archmere took a 4-2 lead in the third on a tape ace by Maddie Frampton, but the Seahawks answered with a 5-0 run that included an ace from Riley McFarland. This set was tied on several occasions, the last time at 19-19, with DMA untying it on a Nissi Wadieh block. The Seahawks stayed in front and kept the match going when Brianna Hathaway found a lane for the winner.
The teams were neck-and-neck for most of the fourth. Another Malloy block pushed the Auks’ lead to 9-6, but DMA fought back to tie the score at 13. A service winner put the Seahawks in front, and Wadieh scored on an attack, but the Auks got even with a Mahoney attack and an ace from Olivia Borsello. Mahoney smashed a shot off the tape to give Archmere the advantage, but DMA rebounded with the next two.
The Seahawks kept coming, turning an 18-18 tie into a 24-18 advantage with a stretch that featured a kill from Maddie McNicholas, an ace from Chloe Benoit, back-to-back kills from Hathaway, and a back-line attack off the arm of McFarland.
The Auks opened up a 4-1 lead in the final set when setter Lillian Guzevich (Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish) dropped a surprise set to the floor. A hitting error a few points later stretched the Auks’ lead to 7-2.
Delaware Military climbed back into it, getting to within a pair at 9-7. then again at 13-11. After a timeout, a service error on the Seahawks sent it to match point, and Malloy closed it out with her lone ace of the evening.
Mahoney finished with 22 kills, while Malloy had 13 with three blocks, and Guzevich had 11 kills, 13 digs and 38 assists. The Auks (5-0) visit Ursuline on Thursday at 7 p.m.
For DMA, Hathaway had 11 kills and 12 digs, and Wadieh contributed 10 kills and five blocks. Alyssa Kelly led the way with 27 digs, and Arabella Marcinko had 40 assists. The Seahawks (1-1) travel to Caravel on Thursday for a 6:15 p.m. start.
Photos by Mike Lang.
