WILMINGTON — Padua’s gymnasium was packed for an old-school Catholic Conference volleyball battle on Sept. 10, and despite the powerful new air-conditioning, the action on the court got pretty heated. Ursuline dropped the first set in hostile territory, then bounced back for a 3-1 win.
Set scores were 29-31, 25-17, 25-14, and 25-23.
Despite missing two starters, the Pandas got off to a fantastic start, taking a 7-1 lead on a block by Hannah McGuigan (St. Anthony of Padua Parish). Emelia Panunto (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) stopped a 7-0 Pandas run, but the Raiders trailed the Pandas for much of the set. Ursuline got to within three on a back-line smash by C.C. DeCaro (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) that made it 12-9, but a tap a few minutes later from Annamay Hendrixson (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) extended the Padua lead to six, 17-11.
The Raiders then went on a run of their own to change to tenor of the set. Claire Kelly (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) got it started with a kill, igniting a 9-1 stretch that resulted in a two-point Ursuline lead. After the Pandas tied the set at 21-21, the teams took turns taking the lead, then returning it to a tie with a service error.
Each team had three set points but could not put the other away. Finally, with the score tied at 29, Padua scored on a Raiders rotation error of all things, and they won when Ursuline committed a hitting error.
The Raiders used their height and service game to steadily pull away in the second set. DeCaro was a problem up front and on the serve, with consecutive service winners giving the visitors a 12-5 lead. The Pandas got as close as five on a few occasions, the last at 13-8. Kelly and DeCaro, along with Jules Cummings (St. Joseph’s Parish, Aston, Pa.) and Caitlyn McGonigal (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) were strong down the stretch.
Two aces by Avery Pilger (Holy Angels Parish) and a cross by Bridget McManamon (St. Cornelius, Chadds Ford, Pa.) staked Padua to an early third-set lead, but the Raiders roared back. Kelly got her team on the board with a block, then she scored on a smash. Consecutive kills by McGonigal gave Ursuline the lead.
Hendrixson helped Padua stay close, but a 5-0 Raiders run turned the momentum. Down the stretch, a number of Raiders contributed. Kelly punished a kill to send it to set point, and a violation on the Pandas closed it out.
DeCaro was stout in the fourth as Ursuline looked for the win, but the Pandas were happy to push for a fifth set. They turned a six-point deficit into a three-point lead, 16-13, playing very good defense and getting points from numerous sources. But after the lead reached three, the Raiders went on the attack. Kelly stuffed an overpass to get the run started, and by the time it ended, Ursuline held a three-point advantage.
But the Pandas had one last push in them. Facing six match points, they went to work. McGuigan pushed a kill successfully to a corner, then went to the serve. She had a service winner and two aces as the Pandas saved five match points, but an attack error gave Ursuline the win.
DeCaro had 12 kills and five blocks for the Raiders, while Kelly finished with 10 kills and four blocks. Hayley Timmons (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) had six aces. The Raiders (3-0) host Tower Hill on Sept. 12 at 5:15 p.m. at Salesianum School.
For the Pandas, Hendrixson had 10 kills. McGuigan went for six kills, five aces and four blocks, while Pilger had six aces. Padua (1-1) is back on the floor Sept. 13 at 6:15 against Archmere.
Photos by Mike Lang.
