Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – St. Elizabeth experienced a turnaround in its volleyball program in 2017, increasing its win total from one to six and earning the 20th seed in the 24-team state tournament. The Vikings’ season came to an end on Nov. 2, however, as 13th-seeded Caravel managed a 3-0 sweep at Conrad Schools of Science.
Set scores were 25-16, 25-19, 25-22.
St. Elizabeth was in all three sets, which is not surprising considering that Caravel needed five sets to defeat the Vikings during the regular season. The first set was the most lopsided of the three, as the Buccaneers turned a tie score into a runaway thanks to a 10-point run.
Kelley Osborne tied things at 12 for St. Elizabeth with an ace, but Caravel began a long run on a net violation. Courtney Maxwell took over the serve, and before she finally committed a service error, the Buccaneers scored nine more points to make it 22-12. The run included five kills from Rene Hastings and two aces. The Vikings scored three consecutive, two of those on aces by Clara Newswanger, but Kody Dillon sent a cross-court winner off the tape to end the set.
The Vikings fell behind, 5-0, to start the second, but they battled back to take an 8-7 lead on an unforced Bucs error. Caravel regained the advantage, and a kill by Dillon and block by Katie Spae expanded that to 19-14. St. Elizabeth cut that to two points, but the Buccaneers closed out the set with a 5-1 run. Maxwell scored the winning point on a cross-court shot.
It was a back-and-forth third set, and a smash by Lexi Lee brought St. Elizabeth to within one at 13-12. Dillon began a four-point run for the Bucs by going straight down with a kill of her own and adding a pair of aces after getting the serve. The Vikings’ Kylee Bowen knotted the score at 19 with a kill.
Two unforced errors sent it to match point at 24-20, but St. Elizabeth was not done. Bowen scored another, and the Bucs committed an unforced error. After a Caravel timeout, Dillon went cross court, ending the match and the Vikings’ campaign.
No statistics were available for St. Elizabeth as of late Thursday night. The Vikings wrapped up 2017 with a 6-9 record. The team graduates four seniors this season.
Dillon had 11 kills, 12 digs and three aces to pace the Buccaneers. Hastings added nine kills. Caravel improved to 11-5 and will travel to St. Mark’s on Saturday to meet the No. 4 Spartans. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at statechamps.com.
