Cape volleyball drops heartbreaker to Central 3-2
After winning their first three matches of the season, including a 3-1 domination of perennial power Ursuline Academy, the Cape volleyball team ran into the scrappy Sussex Central squad Sept. 16, falling 18-25, 13-25, 25-12, 25-12, 15-13 in Georgetown. The Vikings move to 3-1, while the Golden Knights are 2-2.
“A frustrating loss,” said Cape coach Tyler Coupe. “But massive credit to Central for being relentless throughout the evening. In sets one and two, when we were winning, as coaches we still weren’t particularly happy, as we weren’t scoring from enough players. We were benefitting from Central’s attack errors. Sets three and four, they corrected their mistakes and the vibe totally shifted.”
Harper Mamele led the Vikings with 30 kills and 17 digs. Senior setter Kaylee Sockriter put up 46 assists. Junior libero Amara Fruchtman bumped 24 digs.
“Harper really carried a large load tonight for us,” Coupe said. “She did so exceptionally well; however, we won’t have success like that. We’re built more on balance.”
Coupe said his players had some strong attacks, but Central played solid defense.
“They began applying more service pressure and we weren’t able to convert into points,” he said. “Too many free balls and easy plays given up by us. By no stretch is it a house-on-fire moment, but it is a moment to analyze the importance of our offensive diversity.”
Central was paced by Paige Nguyen-Nicholson with 25 kills and 29 digs. Julianne Bounds put down 10 kills and 34 digs. Quinn Nicholson had 27 digs. Setter Riley Messick and Leah Lloyd put up 21 and 18 assists, respectively.
“I’m speechless right now,” said Golden Knights coach Mike Adams. “They came out and dominated us at first, but it was a great comeback. We weren’t ourselves in those first two games. We became ourselves in the third game and showed what we could do. It was the best-played game I’ve ever been involved in. Cape is a great team and tonight was something special. A great team effort.”
Cape travels to Newark Charter (3-0) for a match at 6:15 p.m., Friday, Sept. 19. Central travels to Laurel (0-4) for its next match at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Dan has worked for the Cape Gazette for more than 30 years as a photographer and reporter, covering high school sports and happenings around eastern Sussex County. He won a photography award from the National Newspaper Association, and numerous awards from the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association. A Delaware native, Dan graduated from Cape in 1972 and returned as a teacher and coach in the 1980s. He retired from the classroom in 2016. He was inducted into Cape High’s Legends Stadium in 2016. In his spare time, Dan enjoys spending time with his wife, two sons, grandchildren and dogs.
