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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thedialog.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/23134144\/Pandas-Spartans-VB26-1.jpg\" "\\"Pandas")
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MILLTOWN<\/strong> \u2014 Padua showed off a few ways to win in a volleyball showdown Sept. 22 at Saint Mark\u2019s. The Pandas stunned the Spartans in the first set, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the second, and mounted a late comeback in the third for the 3-0 sweep.<\/p>\n Set scores were 25-16, 26-24, and 25-23.<\/p>\n It was just the third match for Padua, the fourth for Saint Mark\u2019s, but there was a postseason feel in the gymnasium. A large crowd was on hand, making their presence known all evening. Early in the first set, the Pandas were doing all the talking.<\/p>\n They scored the first five points, a run that started with a block by Annamay Hendrixson (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) and ended with a Hendrixson smash. Padua kept the pressure on, with Hendrixson chipping in another attack and an ace that made it 11-2. Their biggest lead was 10 points, including at 14-4 on a bomb from Mina Nowroozi.<\/p>\n The Spartans responded with a run of their own that made it close for a bit. Gia Pezzullo (St. Paul Parish, Delaware City) got it started with a change-up of an attack. Five points later, the Padua lead was down to 14-10. The teams traded points for a bit before the Pandas pulled away for good. They scored five of the final six points in the first, but a hitting error ended the set.<\/p>\n Saint Mark\u2019s scored the first three points of the second, but Padua stuck close. The Pandas forged a 9-9 tie on a kill from Emma Cleveland (Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish), and a minute later, SydneyPaige Huston started a 4-0 run with a big kill, and Cleveland followed with an ace.<\/p>\n Now it was Saint Mark\u2019s turn to rally, and they did. Maya Frohnapfel tied the score at 17-17 with a kill, but an attack by Charlotte Manning off the Spartans\u2019 block put the Pandas back on top. The Pandas took a 22-19 advantage, but a Pezzullo bomb finished a Saint Mark\u2019s run that ended with them on top, 23-22. Another Pezzullo attack sent it to set point, but after a timeout, the Pandas rallied. Hendrixson blocked an attack to save one set point, and after a hitting error on the Spartans, Hendrixson fired off an ace. Now with set point of their own, Liliana Rispoli sent a shot off the Saint Mark\u2019s block, putting the Pandas on top by two sets.<\/p>\n The teams were tight in the third until a kill from Pezzullo launched the Spartans into a 9-3 stretch, with Lina Clark adding a pair of kills during the run, which saw Saint Mark\u2019s take a 14-8 lead. The lead remained a half dozen as late as 20-14 before the Pandas began their comeback.<\/p>\n Manning got it started with a blast, and Cleveland added one of her own. Maya Frohnapfel took advantage of a spectacular dig by Liv Thomas to get one back for Saint Mark\u2019s, but Hendrixson had a kill and a block over the next four points, all of which were scored by Padua, getting them to within one at 21-20. Frohnapfel scored again, but Cleveland answered, and two Spartans errors put the Pandas on top. The Spartans tied it one more time, but a hitting error, followed by an ace from Cleveland, brought the night to a conclusion.<\/p>\n Julia Kelley (St. Ann Parish) led the Pandas with 10 kills. Padua (3-0) welcomes Unionville (Pa.) to Wilmington on Thursday at 5:45 p.m. Saint Mark\u2019s (3-1) visits Archmere on Thursday at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n Photos by Mike Lang.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n