Fred Thomas volleyball wins bracket at DAAD Invitational

The Cape girls’ volleyball program’s future is bright after Fred Thomas Middle conquered its bracket in the DAAD Invitational. 

In a separate competition, Mariner defeated Beacon for third place Nov. 7.

Mariner earned one of the top seeds following a 10-0 undefeated regular season. Beacon wasn’t close behind with its only loss coming at the hands of Mariner. The OG middle schools battled it out with the state’s best at Smyrna High School. Fred Thomas, which lost to its sister schools for two of its three losses this season, took the court at Kent County Parks & Recreation Center against some fierce competition.

The new kid on the block proved to be an issue for its opponents in the Kent County bracket, as the girls rolled to a first-round victory over Newark Charter. They then avenged their only other regular season loss by knocking Chipman out and securing a spot in the final.

In the championship game, Fred Thomas toppled the bracket’s top-ranked team, First State Montessori Academy, to claim the first-place trophy. The victory gives the Lewes Vikings a 10-3 overall record following a 7-3 regular season.

Caravel Academy was the first team pillaged by the Vikings at Smyrna, losing to Mariner 2-0. With the win, Mariner booked an appointment with Magnolia in the semifinals. After dropping the first set 25-23, Beacon bounced back to topple Dover Air Force Base 2-1, giving the Cape family two entries into the semifinal.

Unfortunately, Mariner’s quest for perfection ended with a 2-1 loss to Magnolia. The Milton tribe of the Vikings did not make it easy, though, as the two teams treated fans to a third set that nearly reached the standard 25 points, ending with a 21-19 victory for Magnolia.

The last beacon of hope at Smyrna was Beacon playing Smyrna for a spot in the bracket’s title game. The visitors made it an interesting second set, but fell to the host 2-0, making it an all-Cape third-place match.

A resilient Beacon team hung in with Mariner as long as it could, but the latter's length and technical skills prevented the former from building runs of its own. Mariner’s 2-0 victory resulted in the third-place trophy residing in Milton for the next year.

Mariner wraps up its season 12-1, while Beacon’s 10-3 mark gives Cape three double-digit win girls’ volleyball teams in its district.