WILMINGTON — Judging by the crowd and the intensity at Salesianum School on Sept. 7, Delaware is ready for some high school volleyball. Ursuline took its second straight match at its temporary home with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Delaware Military in front of a large and energetic crowd inside Father Birkenheuer Gymnasium.
The Raiders have a dozen seniors on their roster, and they had their hands full with the Seahawks, who have seven seniors of their own. DMA played outstanding defense, which was able to neutralize the Ursuline attack for much of the afternoon until the Raiders’ hitters took over.
Claire Kelly’s block in the first set ignited a 4-0 run that included consecutive aces by C.C DeCaro (St. Mary Magdalen Parish), giving the Raiders a 13-5 lead. The advantage was seven points after a kill by Jules Cummings (St. Joseph’s Parish, Aston, Pa.), but the Seahawks ran off four straight, culminating with an ace down the left sideline by Kate Hines. Caitlyn McGonigal (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) righted the Ursuline ship with consecutive kills, and after Nissi Wadieh scored for DMA, the Raiders scored the final seven points to take the first, ending with a Cummings ace.
Hayley Timmons (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) served up consecutive aces to open the second, but Delaware Military was not in the mood to concede. They took a 6-5 lead on a block by Maddie August, and the teams were back and forth after that. A push over the front line by Maya Hill broke a 15-15 tie, and the Seahawks led the rest of the set. Wadieh’s block clinched the set.
The Raiders’ attack began to assert itself in the third set. Kelly (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) answered a Hill smash with one of her own early on. A few points later, DeCaro went to the far right corner with a cross, and a Cummings blast After Wadieh got one back, DeCaro struck again with a kill, followed by an ace as Ursuline went up, 11-6.
Kelly had all four Raiders points during a 4-1 stretch, wrapping it up by smashing a Seahawks overpass into the floor. A 5-0 run helped put the set out of reach.
The Raiders had no interest in sticking around for a fifth set. Kelly, DeCaro and Emelia Panunto (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) all had kills in a 9-2 start to the fourth. DMA pulled to within four points on several occasions, once on a Hines ace and twice on kills from August. But after the last August kill, Ursuline scored three straight, with Kelly contributing a highlight-reel attack, and eight of 10. The Seahawks saved two match points, but Cummings secured the victory with a tap into the middle of the DMA defense.
Kelly led the Raiders with 13 kills, while DeCaro had nine and Cummings eight. Cummings had five blocks, and DeCaro had five aces. Ursuline (2-0) plays on the road for the first time on Tuesday, visiting Padua for a 7:15 p.m. start.
For the Seahawks, Hill had eight kills, while Hines had four aces and 21 digs. DMA (1-1) plays its next at home, beginning Sept. 9 vs. First State Military at 5:15 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
