Sussex Academy volleyball play day provides an early measuring stick

Sussex Academy welcomed girls’ volleyball squads from Delmarva Christian, Indian River, Middletown, Milford, Polytech, Sussex Central and Sussex Tech Aug. 24 for a round-robin play day.

“The play day provided us with great insight on areas we need to focus on,” said Seahawks coach Hailee Gooch. “We have a young squad, and the speed of the game at the varsity level is still something we are adapting to. The seniors we lost last season were very physical on offense, so we had a couple of players – Maya Hastings and Grayce Glover – who stepped up during the play day to fill those shoes. Defensively, we were scrappy, which we knew would be present with this group of girls.”

Gooch thinks the players got valuable experience against various styles and skill levels, as well as a wake-up call.

“By playing so many teams in one day, the girls can take away key lessons like stamina, keeping the momentum rising, and how to adjust quickly to different types of offenses, servers, etc.,” Gooch said. “I thought our energy and chemistry on the court started to pick up about halfway through the day. We want to emphasize starting strong and finishing stronger.”

While Delmarva Christian got a good feel for some of its opponents, the Royals were shorthanded.

“Unfortunately, we had four starters that couldn't make the day,” said Delmarva Christian coach John Luong. “It is what it is, but it gave a lot of the younger girls an opportunity to play, to show me why they're on the team and why they're willing to fight for a spot in the starting lineup.”

The first-year coach was pleased with the young players' efforts.

“We had our ups and downs, but I loved the energy. I loved being able to dig ourselves out of holes, and a lot of girls stepped up that normally wouldn't have if they had been on the bench,” Luong said.