A Delaware first: Smyrna is groundbreaking downstate team in volleyball

Led by their strong outside hitters, Smyrna defeated Caesar Rodney in a 3-0 sweep Monday night to become the first downstate team in Delaware history to earn a spot in the DIAA Girls Volleyball State Tournament championship game.

The Eagles will face Ursuline Academy, which knocked off defending champion Tower Hill 3-1. Ursuline is tied with Saint Mark's for the most state championships in the sport with 12. The school will be making its first championship game appearance since 2017.

The match will be held at the University of Delaware's Bob Carpenter Center Thursday at 7 p.m.

"We've made history, no doubt about it, but Thursday's just one more game in the season," Smyrna head coach Daniel Wandless said. "We've earned the opportunity to be there... I think we can play with anybody."

Regardless of who made it out of the Monday's first semifinal match, Delaware was assured of having a downstate team advance to the championship for the first time. Wandless attributed the leap in the level of play downstate to a recent uptick in the number of club teams.

"Those touches out of season is helping their talent grow," Wandless said. "So when they get into season, it's almost like they played another year or year and a half of high school volleyball."

Smyrna earned the tournament's second seed after finishing the regular season 14-1. Their lone loss came to No. 1 seed Saint Mark's. The Eagles have not dropped a set in four state tournament games.

Smyrna's win over Caesar Rodney in mid-September was their only match that lasted five sets. Assistant coach John Trabando said after reviewing film Smyrna adjusted its defense Monday to account for Caesar Rodney's outside hitters. The offense, led by senior Anna Richardson, a first-team all-state selection a year ago, would take care of itself.

"If we run our offense like we're supposed to, we're lights out," Trabando said.

After getting out to a 10-2 lead, Smyrna won the first set 25-20. The Eagles held another lead late in the second set, up 22-18 before Caesar Rodney reeled off five straight points. Wandless called timeout and Smyrna answered with four of five points, including a Richardson drop shot, to win the set 26-24. Smyrna then won the third set 25-14.

"I really just think it was how great we were working together as a team," said Richardson, who recorded a team-high 23 kills. "We had our passes down and I can't hit it without a pass so. We practice hard and we play hard."

Senior Eliza Schneider added 16 kills and 14 digs. Seniors Carly Timblin and Abigayle Osborne led the team with 16 digs and 41 assists respectively.

Ursuline in one stretch of the fourth set won 15 of 16 points on the way to defeating Tower Hill for the second time this season. The Hillers' only losses this year came against the Raiders.

"We put a lot of thought and dedication into our practice," Ursuline head coach Jen Johnson said. "We study. We know the team we go up against and we run a plan."

That plan Monday involved operating in a 5-1 offense, as Johnson described, which allowed Ursuline to have three defensive players in the back row. Libero Grace Burns said they were focused on taking away the back line as Tower Hill's outside hitters relied on going deep in their quarterfinal win at Saint Mark's.

"I think we do a very good job adjusting to other team's strengths," said Burns, who led Ursuline with 13 digs.

Tower Hill won the first set 25-18. The beginning of the second set was disjointed, before Ursuline took control with a 6-0 run late to win 25-15. The Raiders followed it up with a 25-21 third-set win and a 25-16 fourth-set win. In their big run in the fourth set junior Caitlyn McGonigal served three aces.

Tower Hill turned to the drop shot as the game progressed, which went against tendency, Hayley Timmons said. Ursuline registered 12 blocks, led by Juliette Cummings' 7. Junior Cecilia DeCaro had 11 kills and 11 digs. Timmons posted 25 assists.

Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on X @holveck_brandon.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Smyrna becomes first from downstate Delaware in volleyball title game