NEWARK — Saint Mark’s had overcome deficits against Smyrna and Caravel in the DIAA volleyball quarterfinal and semifinal round, respectively, but there was no comeback in the offing in the state championship match. Tower Hill, the seventh seed, held off everything the 16th-seeded Spartans sent their way and swept the match, 3-0, on Nov. 10 at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The Hillers won all three sets by identical scores of 25-21.
Sydney Fischer and Cadence Davis, the Hillers’ twin towers, teamed up with front-line teammates Danielle Soleye, Kennedy Haskins and Madison Squire to cause issues for the Spartans all night at the Bob Carpenter Center. Saint Mark’s played valiantly, but Tower was too powerful.
Saint Mark’s took a 12-10 led in the first set on a Cailtin Hoban block, but the Hillers scored the next four points. Tower responded with the next four, and Saint Mark’s only cut the lead to one once more. Davis came up big late in the set, and two kills by Fischer, sandwiched around an ace from Skylar Donohue, stretched the lead to 25-22. Haskins ended the first with a kill off an alley oop-type set.
The second set also was even for much of the way. Laura Garrett brought the Spartans to a 3-3 tie with an ace, and Maya Frohnapfel came up with some big attacks. One of her kills gave Saint Mark’s a 13-12 lead, but Fischer tied the set with a blast. The teams also were tied at 15-15 and 16-16.
The Hillers went on a 4-0 run after that, with Fischer delivering the final point with a bomb. The Spartans, however, fought back from being down, 21-18, beginning with a smash off the hands of Gia Pezzullo, then another from Adriana Morris, and finally Pezzullo again — after a spectacular save by senior Maddi Way (St. John the Beloved Parish) to tie the set.
Tower finished, however, with the final four points of the set. Davis began the streak with a kill, and Fischer added a block before Jillian Truesdell scored on a kill. A hitting error ended the set.
Maddie Johnston’s ace early in the third set gave the Spartans their biggest lead of the night at 6-2, but the Hillers bounced back with the next five points. Tower Hill took an 8-7 lead, but Frohnapfel started a 4-0 Spartans run with a kill. The teams traded points for a bit, and Saint Mark’s found themselves ahead, 20-18, after another Pezzullo blast.
A net violation on the Spartans tied the set, and Truesdell tapped a shot over the net for the Tower Hill lead. Fischer smoked two in a row to make it 23-20, but the Spartans got a point back after a timeout. The Hillers would not be denied, however, and sealed the deal with kills from Squire and Fischer to bring the season to an end.
Fischer and Davis each finished with 15 kills. Donohue had four aces. The Hillers, who now have won three championships in the past four seasons, finished the season 18-1.
Saint Mark’s went 15-5 and reached the title match for the third time in four years, all against Tower Hill.
Photos by Don Blake.
