The Eagles weren’t the only bird team opening the season with a win Sept. 4, as the Seahawks knocked off Newark 3-0 to give Sussex Academy volleyball a 1-0 start.

“That was really fun,” said senior Ellie Merrick. “I definitely had a lot of fun on the court, so it's good to have our opening game be a winner.”

The Seahawks began the match with a convincing 25-13 win before the Yellowjackets started to sting back in the next two sets. Sussex Academy jumped out to big leads in the final two sets, but Newark refused to go down quietly.

Digging deep, the Seahawks secured the victory with a 25-18 win in the second set and 25-20 advantage in the third.

“Today was a good win, a good way to start out the season,” said coach Hailee Gooch. “It shows us a lot of what we need to work on to be aggressive in order to show up against these southern teams and other northern teams who we’re playing the rest of the season.”

Junior Maya Hastings led the way with 10 kills, while freshman Reagan Klahr finished second with seven and junior Grayce Glover had five. 

“The front line was playing pretty good,” Merrick said. “We have a lot of talented girls up there.”

Sophomore Jopie Smith showcased her versatility by leading the Seahawks with 20 assists and five aces. Glover slotted in right behind her with four. Smith’s three digs were second behind libero Anna Lara-Nieto’s six.

Freshman Patty Lara Nieto also flashed some promise.

“The young girls in the back row are just incredible,” Merrick said. “We had Patty, who's a freshman ... it's her first year on varsity, and she just had an incredible save, so that was really fun to watch.”

Gooch noted that three floaters got some sets in for the Seahawks, and the girls proved they are learning how to play alongside each member of the team.

“A lot of different rotations, each set was a different rotation, different people they played next to,” Gooch said. “Everyone did a really good job adjusting.”

Sussex Academy’s home opener is scheduled against Sussex Central at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 9.