Delmarva Christian volleyball season ends in DIAA second round
After a big-game loss like a DIAA state tournament second-round match, one would normally see tears of sadness, but the Delmarva Christian volleyball team was smiling with high spirits at the fact that they made it this far this season. The Royals fell 14-25, 13-25, 18-25 to the No. 2 Smyrna Eagles Nov. 4. The Royals finish the season at 9-8.
A small school that has fewer total students than a public high school marching band, the Royals showed that having a big heart is just as important.
“Our expectation for the year was to make it to states,” said Royals coach Mike Zampini, who led his 2022 season team to third place in the DIAA tournament. “That was our goal. We exceeded it. We went to the second round. Everybody is happy. They are sad to see each other go, but for the season, I think they are pretty happy. I felt like we stayed with Smyrna for some of each set. Then they would pull away. We could only do so much. They had tall hitters hitting over and around our blocks. It was quicker volleyball than we’ve seen all season. It was a good season. I’m happy for our girls.”
“I’m sad that our season ended,” said senior setter Maggie Kwiatkowski. “But I’m proud at how we played, and we stuck in there and we tried the best we could.”
“I feel good about how we ended,” said senior blocker Addy Benjamin. “I’m proud at how far we came this year. We exceeded our own expectations and the expectations of other people. I’ll take it. As a senior, I feel like it was a good ending for me. We played hard and did well. We had fun and we competed with them.”
Junior Elaina Millaway led the Royals at the net with 15 kills. Kwiatkowski put up 20 assists and had five kills. Senior libero Tobi Robinson had 13 digs.
“Everyone is happy with our season,” said Robinson. “We pushed and we pushed hard, and we saw so much improvement in everyone. Within the team, everyone has grown so much closer. We really enjoy being around each other. It makes all the difference within a team.”
“There were some low moments,” said senior Allie Munro. “But I think overall we did the best that we could, and pretty much all we could hope to do. We played some tough teams this year. We had some great games. I feel as an end point, this is something to be proud.”
This 2023 season, the Royals defeated Cape Henlopen twice, Caravel Academy, Archbishop Spalding and Tatnall.
The Delmarva Christian team moved into the second round with a 25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18 victory over Cape Nov. 2.
The Vikings end their season at 9-7.
