Dialog reporter
The fall season is coming to a close, with only playoffs remaining in a few sports. This week, we combine the girls’ and boys’ schedules. After this week, we will take a break before returning with basketball in early December.
Girls
Volleyball
Monday
St. Mark’s (13-5) vs. Tower Hill (16-2), 5:30 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center. Two teams that had fine seasons meet in the consolation match. For this group of St. Mark’s players, it is the first chance they have to play at the Carpenter Center. St. Mark’s came into the tournament as the fourth seed, and the Hillers were second.
Ursuline (16-2) vs. Padua (18-0), approximately 20 minutes following the first match at the Bob Carpenter Center. Two traditional volleyball powerhouses meet for the state championship. Top-seeded Padua has defeated the third-seeded Raiders twice this season, but those were Ursuline’s lone losses. The Pandas have height and experience, led by likely state player of the year Emily Jarome, setter Emma Lucey and libero Katie McGonigal, all seniors. The Raiders have some big hitters of their own, including Taylor Wright and Corinne Furey, and they play stellar defense, led by libero Sam Davis.
The teams have met five times in the final dating back to 2003, with Ursuline winning four of those. The last time they met at the Bob, however, Padua completed an undefeated season for its first state championship.
Expect a large, energetic crowd in Newark, with students from both schools filling their end zone bleachers. Tickets are $8 and available at www.statechamps.com/diaa.
Boys
Soccer
Wednesday
Cape Henlopen (13-3) vs. Salesianum (15-1), 8 p.m. at Smyrna High School. The fifth-seeded Vikings earned this game by virtue of a win in penalty kicks over St. Georges Tech, while the Sals – seeded first – knocked out Wilmington Charter on Saturday. Salesianum’s 2-0 victory matched its lowest margin of victory; the team won three other games by that same score during the regular season.
The Sals are led offensively by seniors Gavin Ford and Bryce Wallace, but they have multiple weapons who can put the ball into the net. Juniors Emmett McCloskey and Tyler Deutsch have both excelled in goal for the Sals.
Cape Henlopen looks to seniors Zach Gelof and Ulysis Slagle to lead the scoring, but they are not the only two who can finish. In goal, Jakob Gelof has been stout this year.
Tickets are $7 and are available at www.statechamps.com/diaa. Those are good for both games of the semifinals, which begin at 6 p.m. when No. 3 Caesar Rodney meets No. 2 Appoquinimink. The winners will meet Saturday at 5 p.m. at Smyrna for the state championship.
