The Sussex Academy volleyball team topped visiting Delmarva Christian 25-12, 25-23, 20-25, 25-13 Oct. 6 at Sussex Academy. It was the first time the Seahawks defeated the Royals.

The Seahawks took off fast in the first and fourth sets, setting the pace for the victory.

“As expected, Delmarva Christian was extremely scrappy defensively,” said Seahawks coach Hailee Gooch. “We need to keep working on minimizing our own mistakes to avoid digging ourselves into holes. I was proud of how we executed in the fourth set. That’s an area we would’ve really struggled with in previous seasons.”

Mya Hastings led the Seahawks’ offensive prowess with 15 kills. Josephine Smith put up 22 assists. Anna Lara-Nieto bumped 19 digs.

The Royals’ leaders were Morgan Stevenson with 35 digs, Kaylin Conaway with 14 assists, and Katie Jones and Riley Barto with seven and six kills, respectively.  

“Playing Delmarva Christian is always a fun matchup for us, players and coaches alike,” said Gooch. “Our staff has worked alongside coach Kelly [Duffy] and even coached some of their players, and many of our girls have played with theirs over the years.”

Duffy said she always enjoys playing Sussex Academy. 

“So much of our communities overlap,” she said. “And there are many meaningful relationships as a result. [It] was just such a great environment – enthusiastic, fast-paced, positive, and great volleyball by both programs.”

She said Sussex Academy is a well-disciplined team with a defense that made her team earn every point.

“Our Royals struggled to string consecutive points together in the first set, but by the second set, we were neck and neck with the Seahawks,” she said. “We went into the third set hungry for a set win and executed our plan. I'm so incredibly proud of the toughness our girls demonstrated in that set. Being down two sets created a large mountain for us to climb, but our girls were up to the challenge. A run of errors at the start of the fourth set made it challenging for us to come back from, and Sussex Academy earned their win.”