Delmarva Christian volleyball sets up for a quality 2024 season

Royals players care about each other as much as winning

Reaching the DIAA girls’ volleyball state tournament their first three years of high school, Delmarva Christian’s Class of 2025 believes it will make it all four years in 2024. Shown are (l-r) Elaina Millaway, Layni Dukes, Keely Kondracki, Madison Jones and Khushi Patel. AARON MUSHRUSH PHOTOS

Aaron R. Mushrush

September 2, 2024

If you hear the Moose Floor being rocked at Delmarva Christian this fall, it’s not an earthquake, just a Royals girls’ volleyball match.

“We've always had a very strong culture of volleyball at our school – volleyball is probably one of our bigger sports,” senior Elaina Millaway said. “We're proud of our volleyball program, and just being able to support that and have our students stand by us with a big student section, that's so fun.”

“Elaina Millaway is a dominant force to be reckoned with and will lead the offense,” first-year coach John Luong said. “Keely Kondracki and Khushi Patel will need to have consistent sets for Elaina, and Layni Dukes will need to control the backline.”

A regular in the DIAA girls’ volleyball state tournament, the Royals believe they have what it takes to continue their winning tradition in 2024.

“This year will be a strong year for Delmarva Christian, but only time will tell,” Luong said. “One thing is for sure, they are hungry to prove themselves.”

“We just have to keep working hard in every practice, and, a lot of us, we've been playing with each other for a long time,” Millaway said. “We're going to have a lot of chemistry on the court, which hopefully translates into more wins.”

Patel said the chemistry will be a plus, while classmate Madison Jones thinks the offensive and defensive adjustments will help out.

“We've been playing a lot of sixes to try and figure stuff out together,” Jones said.

Dukes believes the work is paying off.

“Each of us is growing even throughout this, and we're just working out our mistakes,” Dukes said. “I feel like it's leading up to a great season.”

The girls are looking forward to testing their talents against the stronger upstate teams in 2024, but they think they can exact some revenge against Caesar Rodney Tuesday, Oct. 15, and hope to win the Saturday, Sept. 14 match against Dover.

The match the girls are most hyped for? Cape.

As local rivals, the two schools have opened the season against each another since 2022 and will do so again at 5:15 p.m., Friday, Sept. 6.

“Our first game is the game we are most focused on; we want to have the best start to the season possible, and Cape are no slouches,” Luong said. “They have a strong coach in Tyler Coupe and a well-built program.”