Ursuline senior setters Courtney Seitz and Jenna Ferguson and senior hitter Mariah Henley want to close out their careers by helping lead the Raiders to a third straight state title. (Photo by Ron Snyder)
Ursuline remains the volleyball team to beat in Delaware as it knocked off St. Mark's in a semifinal match on Thursday. The Raiders (16-1) look to win their third straight title on Sunday when they face Padua (15-3) at the University of Delaware's Bob Carpenter Center in Newark.
"It's a different mix of kids every year so it's always rewarding when we get to this point," Ursuline coach Susan Heiss said. "That is especially true this year because the teams have been so balanced and everyone has proven they can beat any team they face.
Padua advanced to the finals with a win over Archmere in the other semifinal match.The championship will be a rematch of a regular season meeting between the two Catholic schools. Ursuline won that first meeting, 25-17, 25-13, 21-25, 25-11 on Oct. 14. However, Heiss downplayed the significance of that earlier match.
"When you see a team again, especially in the postseason, they can be a completely different team," Heiss said. "I expect a very tough match against Padua."
Archmere (16-4) and St. Mark's (13-5) will face each other at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Bob Carpenter Center in a best-of-three consolation match. The finals will take place after that. Here is a recap of the semifinal matches and the rest of the tournament:
Semifinals
(1) URSULINE 3, (4) ST. MARK'S 0: Rachel Wiechecki had 20 kills and 10 digs as Ursuline advanced to the state finals with a 25-10, 25-23, 25-22 win. Courtney Seitz had 46 assists and 10 digs and Mariah Henley added 16 kills and 17 digs for Ursuline, which has won 12 straight and avenged a regular season loss against the Spartans. Nicole Christ had 32 assists, Stephanie Zampini had 24 digs and Samantha Hall had 16 kills and 17 digs for St. Mark's.
(3) PADUA 3, (2) ARCHMERE 0: Rhianon Graham had 35 assists and Rachel Jenkins had 24 kills and 17 digs as the Pandas advanced to the finals with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 victory. Cara Eppes had 19 assists while older sister Marissa Eppes added 14 kills and 17 digs for Archmere.
Quarterfinals
(1) URSULINE 3, (8) A.I. DU PONT 0: Junior Rachel Wiechecki had 17 kills, senior Mariah Henley had 14 digs and senior setter Courtney Seitz had 37 assists as the Raiders advanced to the semifinals with a 25-7, 25-11, 25-15 win. Erica Wayne had 20 assists in the loss for the Tigers. Ursuline will play at St. Mark’s at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
(4) ST. MARK’S 3, (5) CHARTER SCHOOL OF WILMINGTON 0: Setter Nicole Crist had 37 assists, junior Samantha Hall had 14 kills and 19 digs and senior Alyssa Riggins had nine kills and 14 digs as the Spartans advanced to the semifinals with a 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 win. Kelly Perillo had 12 kills in the loss for Charter. St. Mark’s will host Ursuline at 7 p.m. Thursday.
(3) PADUA 3, (6) CONCORD 0: Rachel Jenkins had 23 kills and Rhianon Graham had 41 assists as the Pandas advanced to the semifinals with a 25-15, 25-19, 25-18 win. Brittany Biddle had 10 kills and 14 digs for the Raiders. Padua will play Archmere at 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Mark’s in the semifinals.
(2) ARCHMERE 3, (7) WILMINGTON FRIENDS 1: Marissa Eppes had 18 kills and 14 digs, Patreece Spence had 13 kills and 21 digs and Elizabeth Kuhn dished out 29 assists as the Auks advanced with a 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-14 win. Lauren Kerrigan led Friends with 34 assists. Archmere will play Padua in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Thursday at St. Mark’s.
First Round
(1) Ursuline d. (16) Appoquinimink, 3-0
(8) A.I. du Pont d. (9) Caesar Rodney, 3-0
(4) St. Mark's d. (13) Caravel, 3-0
(5) Charter d. (12) Delmarva Christian, 3-0
(2) Archmere d. (15) Polytech, 3-0
(7) Wilmington Friends d.(10) St. Elizabeth, 3-1
(3) Padua d. (14) Middletown, 3-0
(6) Concord d. (11) Wilmington Christian, 3-0
ronsnyder@coachesaid.com
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