GLASGOW — Wilmington Charter overcame a late deficit to take the third set from Saint Mark’s when the teams met in a DIAA volleyball tournament quarterfinal on Nov. 6, and the Force erased a significant Spartans lead in the fourth, turning that set into a tossup. But the Spartans kept their composure and battled for a win in extra points, securing a 3-1 win at Glasgow High School.
Set scores were 25-14, 25-23, 24-26, and 26-24. The win sends Saint Mark’s into the semifinals, where they will take on rival Padua, the top seed, on Nov. 11 at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Playing in front of a large and energetic crowd, the fourth-seeded Spartans overwhelmed the No. 5 Force in the first set, then survived a topsy-turvy second. They jumped out early in the third set, getting consecutive blocks from Lauren Mehelas (St. Margaret of Scotland Parish) and an ace from Ashley Strohmeier (St. Margaret of Scotland Parish) as part of a 5-0 run that put them ahead, 8-3.
The lead remained at five points at 15-10 when the Force made their move. A 5-1 stretch in favor of the Force prompted a Spartans timeout, but a few points later Charter tied the set at 17-17 on a Saint Mark’s hitting error. Charter’s Seraphina Pabian was outstanding in the match, and her ace put the Force up, 20-19. The Spartans then got a kill from Lara Saints, who was excellent all night, followed by an ace from Adriana Morris and a push kill from Maddi Way (St. John the Beloved Parish) to go up by two. Some big hits by Emma Shaner brought the Force back, and a hitting error ended the set.
The Force had played from behind early in each of the first three sets, but they took advantage of a few Saint Mark’s miscues to start with a 4-1 lead in the fourth. On a night full of big hits, Mehelas and Pabian traded bombs before a blast by Eleanor Ober ignited a 4-0 run to put Wilmington Charter on top, 9-3.
Adriana Morris had a kill and an ace during a 3-0 Spartans run, but an Ober attack and Pabian ace helped the Force to a 13-6 lead. Mehelas began the Spartans’ comeback with a kill, she was far from alone in the comeback effort. Reagan Garibaldi (St. John the Beloved Parish) had two blocks and a kill to the end line, and Olivia Thomas added a pair of aces as they tied it at 13.
The Spartans kept the momentum going, opening up a 19-15 advantage when Strohmeier scored on a cross, but Pabian and Shaner seemed to be everywhere for Charter. Pabian blasted an attack that tied it at 21 and again at 22. Ober threw up a block after the Spartans went ahead and tied it at 23.
Garibaldi went straight down for the Spartans’ first match point, and after Charter tied the score, Garibaldi struck again down the right side for match point number two. This time, Mehelas made sure it would not be tied again, sending an attack off a defender and to the floor, ending the evening.
Final statistics were not available early Thursday morning. Saint Mark’s improved to 13-4. Wilmington Charter ‘s season ended with a 12-5 record.
Padua and Saint Mark’s split a pair of matches this season. The time of their semifinal will be announced later by the DIAA.
In the other quarterfinal matches, No. 2 Ursuline defeated No. 7 Delaware Military, 3-0, at Brandywine High School. They’ll meet the third seed, Tower Hill, in the other semifinal on Monday. The Hillers moved on with a sweep of No. 11 Archmere. Ursuline defeated the Hillers in a five-set marathon earlier this season.
Photos by Mike Lang.
