MILLTOWN — It may have been opening night, but volleyball at Saint Mark’s had a familiar feel on Sept. 10. The student section was in full voice, the concession stand was open, and the Spartans delivered on the court. They swept Odessa, 3-0, with set scores of 25-8, 25-16 and 25-6.
The Spartans simply overpowered the Ducks, much to the delight of the students who found some relief from the hot, humid weather outside. They had dominating stretches in all three sets, and the one-sided nature of the scores allowed everyone on the roster to pick up extensive playing time, which should come in handy as Saint Mark’s embarks on its traditionally challenging schedule.
The teams fought off some early match jitters as Saint Mark’s opened up a 7-3 lead on a cross by Maya Frohnapfel. The Ducks cut it to 7-5 on an ace from Rachel Bradshaw, but that was as close as they would get. The Spartans finished the first on a 12-1 run, with Frohnapfel contributing two aces during an 8-0 run on the serve. They also scored three straight during that run courtesy of big attacks from Ava Bojarski, Gia Pezzullo and Madison Nabb. Pezzullo ended the set with a smash off the Odessa block.
The Spartans, deep into their roster, opened the second set by scoring the first nine points, capped by a tap from Bethany Rutter. The Ducks, to their credit, did not fold, and a 5-0 run, which included back-to-back kills from Claire Bouie, prompted a Spartans timeout. Lina Clark got the lead back to six at 14-8 with a hard kill followed by a dink, but Bouie’s cross a bit later cut the Spartans’ lead to 18-14. Saint Mark’s scored the final four points of the set, including kills by freshman Ela Dirican and Adriana Morris (St. Paul Parish, Delaware City), along with an ace by freshman Kaitlyn Jankiewicz.
There was no doubt in the third set. Rutter had three thunderous blasts as Saint Mark’s started with a 6-0 lead. After Odessa scored to end the run, the Spartans put up 11 of the next 12 points, getting points along the way from Jankiewicz, Sutton Mix, Morris and another freshman, Anna Spofford, who led the team with seven kills.
A total of 10 Spartans had kills. Saint Mark’s (1-0) remains home for its next match on Sept. 14 at 7:15 p.m. vs. St. Georges.
Odessa (0-1) also returns to the court Sept. 14 at 5:45 p.m. at St. Andrew’s.
Photos by Mike Lang.
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