WILMINGTON – Padua opened its second-round DIAA volleyball tournament match with Cape Henlopen on an 8-0 run, and the Pandas never looked back in a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 2 on Broom Street. The Pandas, the first seed in the tournament, will take on No. 8 Caravel in a quarterfinal-round matchup on Nov. 6 at Glasgow High School.
Set scores were 25-11, 25-17, and 25-12.
Kaitlyn Leberstien (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) and Annamay Hendrixson (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) keyed the opening rally, and both would play big roles throughout the evening. The Vikings got back to within single digits after a block and a kill for Amalia Fruchtman, cutting the Padua lead to 18-9, but the Pandas scored the next five, culminating with a Hendrixson kill. She also closed out the set with a cross.
Hendrixson began the second set with a tap that fell, but early on Cape was trailing by only two at 11-9 after a kill from Fruchtman and an Ava Calciano ace. That is when Padua began to pull away, going on a 4-0 run that included a Hendrixson block and an attack from Hannah McGuigan (St. Anthony of Padua Parish) that ended a long rally. The advantage remained between five and seven until the set ended on a Cape attack error.
Harper Mamele put the Vikings on top, 5-3, early in the third, but after the Vikings’ took a 7-5 lead on a bump from Amara Fruchtman, the Pandas took control. They scored the next seven, with Leberstien handcuffing Cape on several serves. She was also instrumental up front, teaming with McGuigan and Cierra Burslem (Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish) to get to 25. McGuigan kicked off a final 6-0 stretch with a kill deep into the Vikings’ court, and she closed it out with an ace.
Leberstien had 10 kills to pace the Pandas. Burslem had nine kills, and McGuigan added seven along with three blocks. Padua (12-4) will meet Caravel in the front end of a quarterfinal doubleheader, beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are available online only at www.gofan.co/app/school/DIAA.
Mamele finished with nine kills for the Vikings, who wrapped up a 12-5 season.
Following the Padua-Caravel match, No. 5 Saint Mark’s will battle No. 4 Wimington Charter in another quarterfinal. The Spartans defeated MOT Charter on Nov. 2 to advance. On the other side of the bracket, Ursuline, the second seed, will play seventh-seeded Delaware Military Academy at 6 p.m. at Brandywine High School after a win over Smyrna in the second round. That will be followed by No. 11 Archmere against No. 3 Tower Hill.
Photos by Mike Lang.
