Cape volleyball faces tough competiton at play day
The Cape volleyball team faced tough opponents from around the state Sept. 2 at the Diggin’ the Beach play day at Cape, the final outing of the preseason.
The Lady Vikings faced Sussex Central, Dover, Caravel, Indian River, St. Elizabeth, Delmarva Christian and Caesar Rodney in the scrimmage.
Cape started the day off with a scrappy Sussex Central squad and followed it up with Caesar Rodney and Indian River, but the most notable game of the day was with the St. Elizabeth Vikings.
The Vikings versus Vikings matchup was a family affair, as the son-mother coaches Tyler and Pam Coupe from Cape met the dad-daughter Jerry and Amanda McCarthy duo from St. E. More interesting was the staff from the two schools are related. But family ties went out the window as each team set, spiked and killed for the 30-minute scrimmage.
“St. E coach Jerry McCarthy is my dad’s cousin,” said Cape coach Tyler Coupe. “He and my mother used to coach elementary/middle school volleyball together for years at Holy Rosary in Claymont. Jerry, Pam and myself coached together for a couple years at Brandywine Volleyball Club in Wilmington.”
The Cape Vikings finished off the day with games against Dover and Delmarva Christian.
“We started off slower than I expected,” Coupe said. “We had a great week of practice, so to see us come flat was a little disappointing. That being said, as the day progressed, we began to wake up and play some better ball. We still haven't quite found the perfect match in terms of lineup, so girls were placed in different positions throughout the day. We're going to need to iron out some kinks this week and get ready for a tough Delmarva Christian team on Friday.”
Cape will open the regular season on the road at Delmarva Christian Friday, Sept. 8. Cape fell in the opening round of the DIAA State Tournament in 2016 after a 12-3 season. The Royals finished the 2016 campaign at 8-8.
