Seahawks repel Hornets from aerie on Senior Night
WNBA rookie sensation Caitlin Clark recently echoed a familiar sentiment in sports: It’s not how you start, but how you finish.
The Sussex Academy girls’ volleyball team began its 2024 season with two losses, but after dispatching Early College School at Delaware State University 3-0 Oct. 24 on Senior Night, the Seahawks ended their schedule winning six straight sets for a two-win finale.
“This was a win that we needed to kind of relax, have fun, celebrate our seniors and go out playing the sport,” said Seahawks coach Hailee Gooch. “Remembering them in a way that is fun and without as much pressure.”
The match started with ECSDSU jumping out to an early lead, but Sussex Academy stormed back thanks to a string of points produced during senior Dymond Steele’s serves. The Hornets took a timeout down 11-9.
“This night meant a lot to me. I didn't think that I was gonna be sad, but then I realized I have to grow up; I have to move on to bigger things,” Steele said. “I'm really gonna miss everybody. It was really nice watching everyone improve and play their hardest. I think this year I had to step up and be a good role model for them.”
The Seahawks got the better of a two-for-one points exchange before the visitors called their final timeout with Sussex Academy leading 21-14. While the Hornets earned a point out of the timeout, the Seahawks took the set behind junior Ellie Merrick’s serves.
Savannah Montogomery, the only other senior on the team, helped the Seahawks take control of the second set. Montgomery recently broke the team’s single-season and career records for digs, and showed why her name is written next to those milestones. The libero was all over the floor, prepared to receive a serve or prevent a hit from becoming a point. The Seahawks rolled to a convincing 25-11 win in the second set.
For the third set, Montgomery gave up her libero shirt, which she had donned for two, hopefully three, straight all-conference years, to sophomore Grayce Glover.
“It’s definitely a sad game, but these girls, they're great,” Montgomery said. “They support me, support each other, and they're gonna do great things in the future.”
Steele and Montgomery held down the backlines in the clinching set before Gooch subbed them out so family, friends and fans could show their appreciation.
“They both played a huge leadership role in pulling in the team mentally, keeping it positive, keeping everyone in line for practice and preseason, being on time and what they should be doing on and off the court,” Gooch said. “They were both amazing leaders in that aspect.”
With their leaders soaking in the applause on the bench, Sussex Academy won the final set 25-13. Although they finished 6-9, the Seahawks went 5-2 in the Henlopen South, losing by one set to division champ Lake Forest.
“The team started to gel about halfway through the season,” Gooch said. “They see how well we can play together, and we have a very young team, so they're excited to carry that into next season.”
