Cape volleyball defeats Seahawks 3-0
The Cape volleyball team outlasted a tough Sussex Academy squad 25-21, 25-14 and 25-22 Sept. 20 in Lewes. The Vikings moved to 3-1, while the Seahawks are 3-2.
“Overall, I’m not fully thrilled with our performance,” said Cape head coach Tyler Coupe. “I’m happy to have won, but I think we showed some vulnerabilities that we hadn’t in our previous three matches. SAS did a great job in applying service pressure, and we really struggled with that in sets one and three. Coincidently, our serving in sets one and three was awfully inconsistent. In set two, we won the first-touch battle and had a much easier time playing. Our serving has a been one of our most effective weapons, and we need to maintain that to ensure our overall success. I think Kayleigh [Mault] and Ava [Calciano] played a brilliant match. Each hit over .400, which is wildly effective, and each had a positive impact on the match behind the service line.”
Kali Lawson led the Vikings with eight kills, while Calciano had six. Mault and Tatum Friend knocked down five kills each. Megan Smith put up 21 assists from her setter position. Maggie Minto, Mault, Calciano, Lawson, Smith and Harlee Graulich teamed for 18 aces in the three-set match. Friend and Taylor Ockels garnered three blocks. Graulich bumped nine digs.
“This was the best we have ever played against Cape in the history of our program,” said Seahawks coach Hailee Gooch. “It’s a minor win we are proud to celebrate. We knew they would have tough servers going into the match and we will adjust our serve-receive moving forward so we can give our hitters a better chance to dominate the remainder of our season. We are proud of their energy and coming back after the second set.”
Seahawks sophomore libero Savannah Montgomery had 11 digs. Senior Terri Kirschner had 15 assists, while junior Danica Duncan had six kills and junior Carmen Merrick had two blocks.
The Cape junior varsity moved to 3-1 with a 2-1 win over the JV Seahawks. The Vikings JV scored a 25-15, 23-25 and 15-12 victory.
Cape hosts Smyrna Thursday, Sept. 22, while the Seahawks will host Caesar Rodney Tuesday, Sept. 27.
