Archmere senior Grace Mahoney rises up for a kill in the Auks first round game against Charter School of Wilmington in the 2026 DIAA Girls Volleyball State Tournament. Photo Credit: Dave Reeder
The first round of the 2026 DIAA Girls Volleyball State Tournament is complete with all the higher seeds moving on to the second round.
CLAYMONT, Del. — The Archmere Auks defeated the Charter School of Wilmington Forces, 3-0, in the first round of the 2026 DIAA Girls Volleyball State Tournament on November 5.
The Auks took control of the match early in set one scoring six straight points to take a 8-3 lead at the start of the set. The Forces fought back to cut the Auk lead to three near the middle of the frame, but the Auks rattled off another run of five straight points to spring ahead by six. The final point of that run came on a Caroline Hahn kill after a couple diving efforts from Archmere’s back line players — including senior Madeline Frampton — kept the possession alive garnering cheers from the Archmere contingent of fans. The Auks won the first set, 25-16.
“Most importantly what I saw tonight was the ability to keep the ball in play,” Archmere head coach Jerry McCarthy said postgame. “Our back row with Michaela [Iacono] and Maddie and Olivia [Borsello] and then the setters in and out, you know, what do you say? They kept the ball in play and they gave us the ability to terminate and get the point.”
Archmere held Charter School of Wilmington to 13 points in the second set and won the frame, 25-13. Six different Auks recorded a kill in the set and the team was paced by senior Grace Mahoney and junior Brooke Maddox who each had four kills in the set.
The Auks won the final set getting significant contributions from their serving unit. The Auks recorded seven aces in the set from Frampton and fellow senior Michaela Iacono.
“Tonight they were 100 percent focused and they wanted to move on,” McCarthy said. “I think the serving can make us dangerous throughout the tournament.”
Archmere junior Vivienne Govatos sets the ball for a teammate during the Auks first round game against the Forces. Photo Credit: Dave Reeder
Mahoney led the team with four kills in the frame and freshman Elise Shahan earned the game winning kill with a hit to the back left corner of the court.
Shahan’s score secured the Auks’ their fifth straight second round appearance in the DIAA Girls Volleyball State Tournament and an upcoming battle with No. 8 Sussex Central. Archmere and Sussex Central will play their second round game on Saturday, November 7, at 6:00 p.m.
More First Round Games:
No. 10 Lake Forest defeated No. 23 Sussex Academy, 3-0: Spartan junior, Coryn Louder, led the team with 13 kills, helping Lake Forest defeat Sussex Academy for the second time this season. The Spartans will play No. 7 Dover on Friday, November 6.
No. 11 St. Georges defeated No. 22 Delmarva Christian Academy, 3-0: Sophomores Jocelyn Ball and Lena Garland combined for 29 kills in the Hawks first round win. The Hawks are advancing to the second round for the second time in the last three seasons. St. Georges will play No. 6 Saint Mark’s on Friday, November 6.
No. 12 Appoquinimink defeated No. 21 Wilmington Friends, 3-0: Four Jaguar players recorded five or more kills in their win over the Quakers, Thursday night. Appoquinimink senior Julia Sobczynski led the team with ten kills and juniors Riley Robino and Bridget Archer contributed to the win with 22 assists and 16 digs, respectively. The Jaguars face No. 5 Tower Hill in the second round.
No. 13 Caravel defeated No. 20 Concord, 3-0: The Buccaneers earned their first win against the Raiders this season and held Concord to 15 points or less in each set. Caravel will face No. 4 Newark Charter on Friday, November 6.
No. 14 Cape Henlopen defeated No. 19 Sanford, 3-0: Six different Vikings recorded a kill in Cape Henlopen’s opening round victory. The Vikings are moving on to the second round of the DIAA Girls Volleyball State Tournament for the third season in a row and will face No. 3 Padua in the next round. Senior Camilla Willis led the Vikings with eight kills in the game.
No. 14 Smyrna defeated No. 18 Mount Pleasant, 3-1: The Eagles continued their strong run of play earning their fifth straight victory and a ticket to the second round of the 2026 DIAA Girls Volleyball State Tournament. Smyrna has made it to the second round in every season since 2020 and won the state championship in 2023. Smyrna will move on to play No. 2 Middletown on Saturday.
Smyrna senior Emma Mayew keeps a ball in play during one of Smyrna’s regular season games. Photo Credit: Dave Reeder
No. 16 Conrad defeated No. 17 Delaware Military Academy, 3-1: Similarly to these two teams’ first game in early October, this matchup was close throughout. Conrad sophomore Delani Camilli led the way for the Red Wolves with 19 kills and one ace. Junior setter Payton Singleton contributed 24 assists and three Red Wolves each had three aces, helping Conrad reach the second round of the DIAA Girls Volleyball State Tournament for the first time since 2019.
To see the updated bracket click here.
Ryan Colasanti joins Delaware Live following four years at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism. There he covered multiple sports for the school’s radio station as both a reporter and editor. Ryan is excited to return back to the state and cover all things Delaware sports.
