Cape volleyball hosts annual play day
Ten teams took to the hardwood of the Cape gymnasium for the Vikings’ annual volleyball play day Aug. 23. Teams participating with the Vikings were Appoquinimink, Caravel, Conrad, Delaware Military Academy, Newark Charter, Padua, Smyrna, Tower Hill and Ursuline Academy.
“I was really happy with how today went,” said Cape coach Tyler Coupe. “We were without Harper [Mamele] and Joelle [Stephens], but we were still able to run multiple different lineups. I thought the combo of left pins of Camilla [Willis], Rylee [Ockels] and Journey [McDaniel] did a really good job at taking smart, quality swings. A really positive surprise was the service pressure we were able to apply multiple times. We were able to get easier balls in rally from that, which converted to some good points for our offense. I thought Kaylee [Sockriter] did a great job all day in making positive sets. She’s had previous varsity experience, but this is her first time as the primary setter, and she’s really performing well. We saw some other teams’ sizes and abilities, and I like how we challenged them. It was a day well spent.”
Senior captain Mallory Terhune said her team competed well against some of the best teams in the state.
“We worked well together,” she said. “And the play day showed things for us to work on in practice going forward and to prepare us for the season ahead.”
Senior captain Amelia Fruchtman said the Vikings have great chemistry.
“It’s only going to get better the more we practice,” she said. “Our coaches gave us great feedback throughout the day, and we got better as the day went along.”
Cape opens the regular season Monday, Sept. 8, at home against Delmarva Christian.
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.
