Sussex Academy volleyball bumps record to 5-0

No girls’ volleyball team in Delaware has started better than Sussex Academy following the Seahawks’ 3-0 win over Milford Sept. 19. 

“We came out strong, just like we did for the Central game, and I'm really proud of all of us,” said sophomore Jopie Smith.

Nine wins in a row is the program record, and following the girls’ fifth win to begin the 2025 campaign, the squad is two wins away from the 2017 record after ending last year on a two-game win streak.

“We wanted to come out with a lot of confidence, a lot of energy, especially looking back on last year [when] we got beat by Milford in five sets,” said senior Ellie Merrick.

The Seahawks breezed through choppy seas to deliver Milford a 25-8 defeat in the first set.

“We kind of preached coming out, taking care of what we can control, control what we can control, and I thought they did that,” said coach Casey Minard. “Tonight, they came out, looked good on offense and looked really good on defense.”

Minard was at the helm with head coach Hailee Gooch out of town, and the victory marked his first at the varsity level, but the second set sure was a sweater. Sussex Academy built an early lead before the Bucs started to inch back, but the Seahawks held strong for a 25-17 win. The key was good starts making Milford uncomfortable.

“I thought we served really, really well tonight; we were able to get them out of system,” Minard said. “When they were out of system, they struggled to put a ball away. Our defense picked those balls up, and we were able to put them back away.”

Sussex Academy made it their third 3-0 win in a row when they bombarded the Bucs in the game-winning set 25-13.

Milestones are in reach for the Seahawks this week as they welcome 2023 state champion Smyrna Tuesday, Sept. 23, and Henlopen South rival Laurel Thursday, Sept. 25. Both matches against the red teams will be at 5:15 p.m. At 5-0, another win would tie last year’s win total, while two in a row, combined with the back–to-back wins to end 2024, would tie the program record of nine.

“We worked really hard at practice and during preseason with conditioning,” Smith said. “We've built strong connections with each other and we're gonna continue it throughout the whole season.”