Home Local Sports Salesianum School sweeps Cape Henlopen High School in battle of volleyball unbeatens:...

Salesianum School sweeps Cape Henlopen High School in battle of volleyball unbeatens: Photo gallery

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The Vikings' Brady Lamb tries to evade the defense of the Sals' Anthony Molitor. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

WILMINGTON — Salesianum squeaked by Cape Henlopen in the first two sets of the teams’ volleyball match on April 14, but the Sals left no doubt in the third, winning decisively for a sweep of the Vikings in a battle between two of the state’s three remaining unbeaten teams. Set scores were 25-21, 25-23, and 25-17.

The Sals took a quick 6-0 lead in the first and kept that margin at 11-5 on a tip kill from Reid Maas, but the Vikings came to play. They battled back, eventually getting to within a point at 14-13 when William Cerf picked up a kill. Maas responded, getting blocked out of bounds, then finding a hole for a kill to get the advantage back to three points.

Later in the set, the Vikings trailed, 21-18, but consecutive violations on the Sals got it back to one. Salesianum would score four of the final five points to take the set, with Cody Popp accounting for the final two, a pair of blasts that excited the Friday night crowd inside Father Birkenheuer Gymnasium.

The Sals led the second set early, 5-2, but Cape — coached by 2011 Salesianum graduate Tyler Coupe — scored the next seven to take their biggest lead of the night. The run started with a kill from Odin DeLazaro Potemski, followed by blocks by Charles Casas and DeLazaro Potemski. Brady Lamb then scored on a service winner.

Salesianum had a 4-0 run in the middle of the second. Anthony Molitor got that started with consecutive blocks, and after Connor Brown stuffed a Vikings overpass, a rotation violation put the Sals in front. Cape Henlopen battled back for a small lead, but Popp tied it at 19 when his kill attempt was dug out of bounds, setting up a tense ending to the second.

The Vikings erased a two-point Sals advantage to tie the set at 21. The teams traded violations over the next four points, keeping it knotted at 23. Brown sent it to set point with a kill directed to the right from his spot in the middle, and a Cape hitting error ended the second.

Cape’s Talan Stephens served up an ace to begin the third set, but a few minutes later it was 6-5 Sallies. Popp added to the lead with a block, then headed back to the service line and sent his serve down the right sideline for an ace. Salesianum got the lead up to five, but another Stephens ace cut that to 15-12.

That is when the Sals made their move. Popp scored on a cross, and Andrew Mahoney delivered a tape ace. After two violations on Cape, Brown tipped one that found the floor, extending the Sals’ lead to 20-12. The Vikings, down nine, scored three straight, but Christian Sullivan ended that with two kills — one a smash, the other a push — and Maas got it to match point with a block. The Vikings saved one match point, but a service error brought the night to an end.

Final statistics were not available Friday night. Salesianum improved to 7-0 and visits A.I. DuPont on Monday at 4:45 p.m. Cape (6-1) completes a four-match road trip Wednesday at Delaware Military Academy at 5:30 p.m.

Delcastle is the other team that has not yet lost.

All photos by Mike Lang.