Spartans sweep Conrad, advance to first volleyball semifinal since 2013

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Dialog reporter
 
WILMINGTON – The seedings might have indicated that Conrad was the 12th-ranked team in the state volleyball tournament and St. Mark’s the fourth, but the quarterfinal match the teams played on Nov. 7 was much closer than that. The Spartans and Red Wolves battled through three tough sets before St. Mark’s prevailed in a sweep at the St. E Center. Set scores were 25-21, 25-23, and 25-19.
With the win, the Spartans advanced to the semifinals on Thursday night on their home court. They will meet top-seeded Padua approximately 20 minutes after the first semi, which will pit No. 3 Ursuline vs. No. 2 Tower Hill. It is St. Mark’s deepest tournament run since 2013, when the Spartans fell in five tense sets – to Padua.

Savannah Seemans follows through on a shot for St. Mark’s against Conrad in Tuesday night’s quarterfinal matchup. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)

“It’s going to be exciting. We’re ready,” said St. Mark’s sophomore Savannah Seemans, who had a stellar match with 22 kills, 12 digs and 20 assists.
Conrad and the Spartans played a tight first set in front of a sellout crowd – featuring large student sections from both schools – and were tied at 17 after the Red Wolves’ Julie Kulesza tucked a kill attempt into the far corner. But the Spartans rattled off the next three points, the first of which was a blast by Seemans and the third a block by freshman Caroline Detrick.
After Kulesza ended the run with a bomb of her own, St. Mark’s picked up the next three points to go in front, 23-19. It went to set point at 24-20 on a kill by Abbie Thibodeau off the Conrad block, and although the Red Wolves were able to save one set point, they could not extend it any further. Seemans ended the set with a crushing blow down the left side.
Conrad opened the second set with an 8-2 lead, but St. Mark’s responded after a timeout by scoring the next five points, including an ace from Grace Sawyer and a point on which Seemans blocked a kill attempt, then followed with a smash on an overpass. An unforced Red Wolves error leveled the match at 10.
“We just knew we couldn’t let up. We just wanted this so bad,” Seemans said. “We knew we had to keep fighting.”
Led by Seemans, the Spartans would go on to take a 21-14 lead. The sophomore was all over the court, sending balls to the floor from all over the court. Combined with some stellar defense, St. Mark’s pushed it to set point at 24-18, and a 2-0 lead was imminent. But the Red Wolves responded, saving five set points to cut their deficit to one. Katie Husbands earned the win for the Spartans, however, blocking a shot by Conrad, then sending a kill off a Red Wolves defender for the point.
With Amanda Tucci on serve to open the third, the Spartans stormed out to a 5-0 lead before Kulesza knocked down an overpass to get the Red Wolves on the board. Conrad continued the comeback, as Leah Camilli scored on a kill to make it 7-6. St. Mark’s took a 15-11 lead, but Camilli tied it by sending one straight down.
St. Mark’s bounced back with a tip kill by Thibodeau, a Seemans smash down the left side, and another Thibodeau point to put them back up by three, 18-15. Conrad got within one at 20-19, but the Spartans went to work. The scored the final five points, the final one coming when a Red Wolves attack went over the end line.
St. Mark’s, playing without injured senior hitter Erin Derick, received six kills apiece from Detrick, Grace Frati and Gillian Lytle, who threw in 18 digs for good measure. The Spartans improved to 13-4 for the season.
“We did this for Erin. And Caroline, as a freshman, stepping up has been incredible. All her hard work has been paying off,” Seemans said.
For Conrad, which finished at 12-6, Stefanie Kulesza led the way with nine kills, while Alyssa Faville finished with 36 digs.