Cape volleyball takes down the Panthers
The Vikings volleyball team clinched a berth in the DIAA state tournament with a 25-21, 19-25, 25-13 and 26-24 victory over Polytech on Senior Night Oct. 25 at Cape.
Senior Tatum Friend was in beast mode at the net, garnering 14 kills and three blocks. Senior Megan Smith put up 33 assists and served eight aces. Harlee Graulich and Kali Lawson bumped 22 and 20 digs, respectively. Lawson also put down seven kills. Kayleigh Mault slammed eight kills while serving three aces and making two blocks. Ava Calciano served seven aces and scored five kills. Taylor Ockels garnered four kills and had three blocks. Natalie Derrickson and Maggie Minto teamed for 15 digs.
“We had trouble sustaining our energy at first,” said Mault. “Once we got in the rhythm, we started bumping the energy up. They were scrappy, but we were getting past them with our hits.”
“Playing a team like Polytech before the state tournament is good because they know how to keep the ball in play,” said Smith. “They forced us to find new and inventive ways to put the ball away and keep the ball in play.”
“It was hard to find a rhythm at first,” said Friend. ”Once we figured out their plays, it was easier to get in our system.”
“I’m extremely happy to come out with a win,” said Cape head coach Tyler Coupe. “Poly put a ton of pressure on us behind the service line, but thankfully our serving was equally as effective. Our offense tonight struggled for consistency. Our errors were almost all on attempts to score points, but we still need to understand our timing of when to take risks and when to extend rallies. I thought our in rally defense played beautifully. We dug some fantastic balls and made some hustle plays that we have not made in matches past or even seasons past. Our pressure serving [us being down in pressure situations] was brilliant. Ava, Megan and Kayleigh, specifically, all went on really timely runs that gave us an advantage. I’m happy to have had all eight seniors get a few moments to make an impact. They’ve been a great group to coach over the last four years. They’ve challenged us as coaches and challenged each other as players. Their jobs aren’t done, however.”
The JV Vikings moved to 10-4 on the season with a 0-2 loss to the JV Panthers.
