WILMINGTON – Salesianum is headed to the DIAA boys volleyball state championship match for the third consecutive year after a 3-0 victory over Caesar Rodney in the semifinal round on May 20 at Father Birkenheuer Gymnasium. Set scores were 25-15, 25-21, and 25-23.
A comfortable margin in the first set was not an indication of how the rest of the evening would go for the second-seeded Sals, the defending state champs. The Riders, the No. 3 seed, made the trip from Kent County with an umblemished mark of 17-0 on the season, with wins over several tournament teams and sweeps against Concord and Archmere in the postseason. CR had dropped just one set all season coming into the match.
The Sals led the first set, 6-3, before steadily pulling away. After a violation on the Riders, Reid Maas served up an ace. A hitting error on CR made it 9-3 and prompted a Riders timeout. Maas and Cody Popp kept the Riders on their toes with some majestic blocks, and Colin McLaughlin added a few blocks.
A few hitting errors sent the first to set point, but Andrew Victory saved one by crushing a kill into the floor. However, a service error ended the set.
Mason Mardesich began the second set with a kill, and he teamed up with Victory for a block to make it 2-0. Mardesich, the tallest player on the court, knocked down another kill to add to the Riders’ lead, but the Sals answered. The lead remained at three points until it was 7-4, but Popp cut it to two with a prodigious blast. Popp moved to the serve, and Max Gruszka played some defense, scoring on a block. Gruszka then tied the set with a win on a 50/50 ball.
Salesianum took the lead on a hitting error, but the Riders stuck around. Mardesich threw up a block to give the Riders a 10-9 lead, but the Sals responded by scoring the next five points, culminating with a back-line attack by Popp. CR got back into it, turning a spectacular defensive save into a kill that cut the Sals’ advantage to one. Xylord Martin tied it at 17 with an attack down the middle, setting up a race to 25.
Mardesich pushed one down to get the Riders to within three at 22-19, and a Salesianum hitting error made it even closer. But the Sals would win the next three point to take the set. Maas sent a blast off the Riders block and into the stands. Popp scored to send it to set point. Caesar Rodney called a timeout, but after impressive digs from both Aiden Dietrich of the Sals and Camren Scaffedi of CR, Maas found a hole and blew an attack right into it for the set.
After dropping the first point of the third, the Sals ran off the next five, and the lead grew to five at 8-3. A bomb by Matthew Bayes kick-started the Riders into a comeback. Consecutive blocks by Victory and Mardesich cut the Sals’ lead to 9-8, and Martin found open space with a deep attack to tie it.
Salesianum pushed the lead back to three at 17-14 when Popp lofted a kill deep into the far left corner. After a timeout, the Riders picked up points on a service error and five hitting errors to take a 20-17 lead. This time, the Sals called a timeout. Alexander Jankiewicz ended the Riders’ run with a blast down the middle, but the Riders scored the next point. Salesianum tied the score at 22 on a hitting error, but CR took the lead right back.
The Sals went back to the power game. Andrew Mahoney scored with a bomb in the middle, and Maas sent it to match point with a block. Maas ended any thoughts of a fourth set by crushing an attack off a Riders defender and to the floor.
Popp led the Sals with 16 kills and 10 digs, and Maas and Mahoney each had 11 kills. Dietrich had 21 digs to lead the Sals, while Colin McLaughlin and Gruszka each had three blocks. The Sals (18-1) will battle No. 1 Appoquinimink on Thursday at Smyrna High School for the state title. The match begins at 6 p.m., and tickets are available at www.gofan.co/app/school/DIAA.
Photos by Mike Lang.
