By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After posting fourth-place finishes in the Class 5A state tournament the past two seasons, Tatiana Dowling's Seaman volleybll team is setting its sights even higher this fall.
Seaman senior Maegan Mills (13) puts away a kill in Tuesday's dual volleyball sweep over Baldwin. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Maegan Mills (13) is congratulated by her Seaman teammates after a kill against Baldwin. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And the Vikings have taken four steps in the right direction to open the 2023 season, with Tuesday's 25-15, 24-19, 25-21 home dual sweep over Baldwin boosting Seaman's record to 4-0 on the season.
"I think any time that you come away with three wins in a five-set match, that's great,'' Dowling said. "I do think we need to work on our consistency and staying (at a high level) the whole entire time.''
Seaman got Tuesday's dual off to a quick start in the opening set, with the Vikings opening up a 3-0 lead and never trailing.
Baldwin got as close as a point twice and was within 10-8 before Seaman ran off six straight points to take control, getting kills from senior Brooklyn Gormley and junior Campbell Chabot and a long service run from sophomore Kinsley Smith, including an ace.
Seaman got off to a 6-1 lead in the second set on a kill from senior Maegan Mills and a 7-2 lead on a kill from junior Maggie Moulden.
A Mills kill put the Vikings in front 15-10 and a Mills kill put Seaman up 23-17 before a Moulden kill closed out the six-point second-set win.
Seaman trailed for the first time all night in the early stages of the third set but the Vikings rallied for an 11-3 advantage.
A kill from junior Ally Steiner gave Seaman a 12-4 lead but Baldwin battled all the way back to get within 14-12 on a kill from senior Fisayo Afonja.
A kill from junior Ava Esser and two straight aces from senior Taylin Stallbaumer put Seaman in front by an 18-12 margin but Baldwin got back within 22-20 before Chabot scored on a dink and Gormley contributed a pair of kills, including the match winner.
Senior Taylin Stallbaumer registers a kill in Tuesday's 3-0 dual volleyball sweep over Baldwin. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Dowling said that a strength for the Vikings is that most everybody on the team is capable of putting away kills, which makes Seaman hard to defend.
"I really like that about this team,'' Dowling said. "They do a really good job of sharing the ball, which we talk about a lot and making sure that we're getting kills from all areas of the floor and being a true team.''
MATCH RESULTS
Seaman def. Baldwin, 25-15, 25-19, 25-21.
