Tatnall played the Sanford Warriors at home on Tuesday night. In the first set, the Hornets came out fired up and moved to an early lead. However, Sanford bounced back on a few solid serves and attacks, but thanks to back-to-back service runs by Sophie Kirby ’22 and Niyah Kellman ’23, the set moved out of reach for the Warriors. Set 2 started more balanced with Sanford and Tatnall tied early, but Tatnall started dominating from the service line. Runs by Bri Gautier ’23 and Nancy Evans ’23 gave the Hornets a comfortable lead. Our girls easily won set 2, 25-17. Set 3 was more of a battle with many lead changes. Sanford led 21-20 late in the set, but, with a late push, Tatnall pulled ahead and won on a powerful kill by Niyah Kellman ’23.
Offensive leaders included Bri Gautier ’23 who had a team-high of 6 kills and Sophie Kirby ’22 with 4 aces. Followed closely by Emma Kirby ’23 with 4 kills and Caitlyn McGonigal ’25 with 4 kills and 4 aces. The defense was led by Nancy Evans ’23 with 18 digs and Niyah Kellman ’23 with 10 digs. Sophie Kirby ’22 and Lexi Tarlue ’24 each had a block kill which would help seal the deal and continue the Hornets’ 2 game win streak.
The girls are currently 3-4 and are ready to keep the momentum going against St. Andrews today, October 7 at home.
In addition to a solid varsity performance, our JV and Freshman teams also showed promise and spirit against Sanford this past Tuesday.
The Sanford game for JV was a tough fight. The girls tried extremely hard to walk away with a win but unfortunately lost 2-1. Our girls lost the first set, but rallied back and took the second set. In the third, the girls ultimately lost a really tight, intense game. The team played great volleyball, and morale is high as usual.
Meanwhile, our Freshman team celebrated their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Sanford on Tuesday. The girls had a strong showing in the first set, taking an early lead and finishing the set 25-21. The second set was a tighter contest. Although the Hornets led the score throughout most of the second set, they fell to Sanford 23-25 and pushed the contest to a final set. The girls played a scrappy, cooperative third set after Sanford initially took a 5-0 lead. Consistent and strong serves from Kathryn Wilkinson ’25 and Devon Stempel ’24 helped us to stage a comeback where all of the girls worked to communicate and pass the ball effectively. The 3rd team ended up winning the third set 15-13.
Both teams will also play St. Andrews today, October 7.
