For The Dialog
WILMINGTON – The second-seeded Padua Pandas swept No. 10 St. Mark’s on Tuesday night at the St. E Center to advance to the state volleyball semifinals. The Pandas had an impressive showing in the 25-8, 25-19, 25-11 win.
Sophomore Katelyn McGonigal set the tenor in the first set with four straight aces, and classmate Emily Jarome had a kill as the Pandas raced out to a 9-2 lead. Another sophomore, Emma Lucey, would add two aces as the lead grew to 13-3. Senior Lauren Mellor and junior Ella Welsh added some powerful kills, and Jarome ended the first with a kill.
Padua (14-3) jumped out to a 9-4 advantage in the second, but the Spartans got back into things as senior Kara Wirt smoked a kill to cut the lead to 10-7. After some back and forth, the Pandas led, 20-16, and a Jarome kill, followed by an ace by Mellor, finished the set.
Two kills by Jarome and another McGonigal ace helped Padua to an 8-2 lead in the final game. The score was 17-10 when Jarome scored an ace, kicking off a run of seven straight Pandas points. The match ended on a kill by Taylor Valletti.
Jarome had 12 kills to lead the Pandas, while Mellor had 10. Maddie Judge had 18 digs. Padua faces Archmere on Thursday night in the second semifinal match. The Pandas defeated the Auks in five sets in an exciting Oct. 23 battle.
Wirt led the way for the Spartans with five kills, while Genny Hughes had four. Grace Sawyer had 16 digs. For St. Mark’s, the season ends at 10-8 after missing the playoffs in 2014.
