Pride For Delaware, Past Familiarities Fueling Volleyball Trio

Savannah Seemans, Hannah Wright, and Mackenzie Sobczyk, all share common passions - passion for volleyball, winning, and the state of Delaware. All three of those qualities have been on display for the Delaware natives as their volleyball careers intertwined which led them to become Blue Hens.

Seemans, Wright, and Sobczyk all had a history of either earning All-State or All-Conference honors or competing against each other in state tournaments. However, they also played with each other on the club circuit, particularly East Coast Power, which saw them finish third at nationals in 2019.

"All the girls on our team are like sisters," Sobczyk said, "but especially them. We've been together for so long and it's really easy to tell whenever either of them is down or having a day because we just know each other so well. It's just like family at the end of the day."

Volleyball started differently for all three of them also; Wright initially began playing in first grade and played with her older sister, who initially wanted to compete in cross country instead before being persuaded by her father. Sobczyk began playing in third grade, but started playing more competitively at 13 years old, where she played on the same club team as Seemans. Seemans started playing in sixth grade, but was originally against playing volleyball before seeing the enjoyment it brought to her older sister. Nonetheless, they all knew of each other because of the volleyball community in the state.

"I just remember the first time I knew who Savannah Seemans was was my freshman year of high school," Wright said. "We were playing against Saint Mark's and Savannah was just getting every single kill and I was like 'Who the heck is this girl she's absolutely killing us.' I would see her around club tournaments, sometimes our teams would play against each other, and we'd always play against each other in high school. I always played against Kenzie in high school but we never really started talking and becoming friends until we were on the same team together."

As teammates, Seemans said playing with them while growing up was some of the most fun she's ever had playing volleyball, and they "brought out the best in each other." Placing third at nationals is unanimously their fondest memories together, but the off-the-court moments were important to them as well.

"Just the three of us being in the hotels, we would always goof around and go to each other's rooms after every game, hang out, run around the hotel, play games," Seemans said. "It was just fun to be kids together and do fun things like that even outside the volleyball court."

When Sobczyk committed to Delaware, the last of the three after Seemans and Wright, she was excited to continue to play with the two of them.

"Savannah committed so long before, Hannah was always 'My dream is to go to Delaware' and I wasn't really sure what I was going to do," Sobczyk said. "I eventually looked here and I really liked it and knowing they were both coming here I was like 'that would be awesome to continue playing with them' because we've always had so much fun together."

Seemans said they are grateful for the chance to still play together, and experience what they are going through with each other.

"I think sometimes we think back to when we were in high school and it's just crazy how far we've come," Seemans said. "It's kind of cool we still get to play together because not a lot of people have that opportunity to grow up playing together and then continue it in college. We realize how lucky we are to have each other."

All being from Delaware, playing Division I volleyball, and representing the state is something that is very prideful for them. Sobczyk said she's proud to represent the state and university because of how much everyone knows each other and will support you. Wright and Seemans relate back to when they were young and would come to Delaware volleyball games and watch, with Seemans "wanting to continue the legacy and make the people around us proud."

"I think it's really important as student-athletes and as women, we are role models for younger kids and younger women athletes," Wright said. "We're paving the way to show them the possibilities are endless."

Wright said the similarities between them drives them to want to win and be competitive. She said they feed off of each other because of the pride they have in the state.

"There's two types of people that come out of Delaware," Wright said. "There's one person that's super proud to be from Delaware, knowing that it's a small state and having big dreams, and there's other people that are 'I need to get out of Delaware.' I've always been the type of person that I'm super proud to be from Delaware. There's just nothing bad about Delaware - everybody has your back, it's a tight-knit community, especially the volleyball community."

Wright attributed that mentality to how she met Seemans and Sobczyk, who she calls two of her best friends, and is grateful that volleyball has brought them together.

"It means a lot being from Delaware and wearing Delaware on my back when I play," she said. "I just love being from Delaware, I'm even more proud to be able to represent Delaware whenever we travel to different states. All the little kids, I used to be those little kids. I would come to the UD games and I would sit there with my dad and sister and be like "oh my gosh, this is so great, they're so grown up, they're so good" and now I'm one of those people that is out on the court playing and wearing Delaware."

University of Delaware Athletics

Pride For Delaware, Past Familiarities Fueling Volleyball Trio

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