For The Dialog
WILMINGTON – Freshman Corinne Furey had a solid match to lead fourth-ranked Ursuline past No. 5 Charter School of Wilmington in a five-set volleyball classic on Oct. 22. The set scores were 22-25, 25-23, 25-10, 20-25 and 15-11.
The Raiders and Force traded points early in the first, but a Furey kill gave Ursuline a 9-7 lead. Sam Davis served up an ace to give the Raiders a 14-12 advantage before Charter went on a 7-2 run. Madeline Matheny and Elizabeth Swanson each had kills as the Force closed out the first on a service error by the Raiders.
Furey, who paced the victors with 22 kills and three blocks, and junior Taylor Wright were throwing down kills for the Raiders in the second set, but Matheny kept Charter close at 15-12. The Force led, 23-22, until Furey finished the set with three straight kills to even the match The third set was all Raiders. Freshman Cassidy Markel had three aces, three kills and block to lead the way.
The Force bounced back early in the fourth, taking a 13-6 lead on a couple of kills by Matheny and one by Swanson. Ursuline made a run, and Markel cut the deficit to 18-16 with another ace. Matheny’s powerful kill tied the match at two sets apiece and sent the teams to the deciding fifth.
The points got longer in the final set. The Raiders jumped out to an 11-7 lead on kills by Markel and Wright, but Matheny responded with a trio of kills to make the score 11-10. Markel’s kill and Wright’s ace sent it to match point at 14-11, and Furey ended the evening with a great kill to give the Raiders the hard-fought win.
Furey credited her coaches and a “great team atmosphere to keep us level after the first-set loss, and we kept our confidence and played strong as a team.”
Wright had 16 kills and 20 digs from Wright, while Markel added 10 kills, five aces, 15 digs and 29 assists. Ursuline (9-3) hosts Concord on Tuesday night at 7:15 before closing with rivals Padua and St. Mark’s before the state tournament.
“We are still working on little things, but playing these teams will help us get better and will really help come tournament time,” Furey said.
Matheny had 23 kills and 17 digs to lead Charter (9-3), which faces Delaware Military Academy on the road on Monday at 7 pm. The Force finishes with Friends and Newark Charter before the postseason begins.
