Volleyball All Set For CAA Conference Tournament

NEWARK, Del. - University of Delaware's volleyball will enter the CAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed, and will play in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at SECU Arena in Towson, Md. Delaware enters the weekend on a 13-match win streak. They are looking for their fifth CAA Conference Tournament title, and their first since 2011.

2023 Highlights

Delaware began the season 6-0 for the first time since the 2007 season after defeating Loyola (Md.), Niagara, and Robert Morris at the Blue Hen Invitational and Tarleton State, UTSA, and Lamar at the Roadrunner Classic, and sat at 7-1 following non-conference play.
Ezgi Basaranlar was named Tournament MVP at the Blue Hen Invitational, while Savannah Seemans was named Tournament MVP at the Roadrunner Classic.
Kirah Johnson was named to the Blue Hen Invitational All-Tournament team and Basaranlar and Madelyn Grunza were named to the Roadrunner Classic All-Tournament Team.
Lani Mason was named to the Delaware Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Delaware went 1-1 to begin conference play against Campbell, with Johnson recording 23 kills and hitting .316 while recording seven blocks in the two games.
Delaware defeated Towson in five sets on Sept. 22 and fell in five sets on Sept. 24. Friday's win was their first over Towson since 2016. Mason had 38 kills in two games, while Johnson had 22 kills and hit .404. Seemans had 37 digs, and Murray had nine total blocks.
Delaware split two games against Charleston, salvaging the finale in reverse sweep fashion. Seemans had 26 kills, Grunza had 23, and Johnson had 22 and hit .333. Basaranlar had 79 assists and Gex had 43 digs and Johnson had 10 total blocks.
Delaware completed their first CAA weekend sweep and CAA match sweeps of the season against Northeastern. Mason had 20 kills, Johnson had 19 kills, hit .310, and recorded 16 blocks, Whitfield-Moss hit .519 with 17 kills. Basaranlar had 71 assists. Gex had 24 digs. Delaware held Northeastern to a .147 hitting percentage.
Delaware took two games against Stony Brook, 3-0 and 3-1. For the two games, Mason had 25 kills and hit .333, Grunza had 23 kills and hit .583, Johnson had 14 kills, hit .311, and had 16 blocks, Basaranlar had 65 assists, and Gex had 23 digs. Stony Brook hit .130 for the weekend. During the second match, Delaware won the second set 25-8, their largest set victory of the season and their largest since beating Temple 25-8 in the first set of their game on August 27, 2021.
Delaware won both matches against Hofstra in their return home on Oct. 21 and 22, with their first game being a reverse sweep victory. Mason had 27 kills, while Johnson had 20 and hit .311. Basaranlar had 76 assists and Gex had 34 digs. Hofstra had a .147 hitting percentage.
Delaware defeated UNCW on the road, first in reverse sweep fashion, then in four sets. Mason had 33 kills, Seemans had 21 kills and 30 digs, Bassaranlar had 63 assists, UNCW had a .183 hitting percentage. On Oct. 28 during the fourth set, Delaware went on an 11-0 run, their third run of at least 10 straight points. They also did so against Stony Brook on Oct. 15 during the second set and against Lamar on Sept. 2 during the first set.
Delaware completed back-to-back sweeps of N.C. A&T during their final home weekend of the season. Mason had 24 kills and hit .340, Grunza had 18 kills and hit .484, Whitfield-Moss had 13 kills, hit .385, and had eight blocks, Johnson had 12 kills and hit .364, and Basaranlar had 66 assists. N.C. A&T hit just .041 in the two matches. Delaware's .405 hitting percentage on Nov. 4 was best in a match since hitting .405 against William & Mary on Nov. 14, 2021. Their -.022 hitting percentage allowed on Nov. 5 was their best in a match since allowing a -.056 percentage against University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Sept. 4, 2021.
Delaware closed out the regular season on the road with two wins over Elon, first a sweep, then in four sets. Mason had 33 kills and hit .277, Seemans had 18 kills, Johnson had 13 kills and hit .407, Basaranlar had 71 assists, and Whitfield-Moss had 10 total blocks. Elon hit .182.
Basaranlar became the fourth player in program history with 3,500 career assists. She joined Nikki Brassell (4,538), Megan Welch (4,234), and Jess Chason (3,563). She is also the 25th active player to reach the mark.
Delaware is currently ranked 71st in RPI, the best in the CAA at the moment. They were rated as high as 64th earlier this season.
Delaware won 14 consecutive sets from Oct. 1-Oct. 15, their most consecutive set victories since winning 17 in a row from Sept. 14-25, 2007. They also won 12 sets in a row from Oct. 29-Nov. 11.
Delaware held their opponents to under a .100 hitting percentage in back-to-back games on Nov. 5 and Nov. 11 for the first time since August 27, 2021 (Temple, .061 and Rider, .076). They also held their opponents to a hitting percentage under .200 in 11 straight matches from Oct. 8-Nov. 11.
Delaware went 27-8 in sets in October and are 12-1 in sets in November.
Delaware's 13 consecutive wins and 13 consecutive wins against CAA opponents is their longest since winning 14 straight from Oct. 3-Nov. 21, 2010 and one shy of tying a program record.
Lani Mason was named First-Team All-CAA, while Ezgi Basaranlar and Kirah Johnson were Second-Team selections and Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss was an All-Rookie selection.
Mason became the second Delaware player ever to earn three CAA First-Team selections.
Basaranlar earned Second-Team honors also for the third straight season.
Whitfield-Moss became the first Delaware player to be named to the CAA All-Rookie Team since Lily Rogers and Savannah Seemans in 2020.
Head coach Kimberly Lambert's 39 wins are the most by a Delaware head coach in their first two seasons in program history.

Blue Hen Invitational

Mason finished with 42 kills, 3.82 kills per set, a .314 hitting percentage, 36 digs, 3.27 digs per set, and seven blocks.
Eileen Gex had 43 digs and 3.91 digs per set.
Basaranlar finished with 114 assists, 10.36 assists per set, 25 digs, 2.27 digs per set, and 14 blocks.
Johnson finished with 32 kills, 2.91 kills per set, a .574 hitting percentage, and 14 blocks.
Asia Murray finished with 12 kills, a .348 hitting percentage, and 18 blocks.
Grunza finished with 23 kills and seven blocks.
Seemans finished with 29 kills, 2.64 kills per set, 28 digs, and 2.55 digs per set.

Roadrunner Classic

Mason finished with 39 kills, 3.25 kills per set, 28 digs, and 2.33 digs per set.
Gex finished with 26 digs and 3.00 digs per set.
Basaranlar finished with 123 assists, assists per set, 19 digs, 1.58 digs per set, and nine blocks.
Johnson finished with 33 kills, 2.75 kills per set, a .388 hitting percentage, and 12 blocks.
Murray finished with 18 kills, a .279 hitting percentage, 24 blocks, and 2.00 blocks per set.
Grunza finished with 31 kills, 2.58 kills per set, a .422 hitting percentage, and nine blocks.
Seemans finished with 29 kills, 2.42 kills per set, 31 digs, 2.58 digs per set, and nine blocks.

Delaware Invitational

Mason finished with 32 kills, 4.57 kills per set, and a .288 hitting percentage.
Basaranlar finished with 62 assists, 8.86 assists per set, 19 digs, and 2.71 digs per set.
Johnson had 15 kills, hit .519, and had seven blocks.
Seemans had 14 kills and 14 digs.
Gex finished with 21 digs and 3.00 digs per set.
Painter finished with 13 digs.

Vs Campbell

Delaware defeated Campbell, 3-1, in their CAA opener.
Mason had 14 kills and six digs, Seemans had 13 kills, hit .360, and had 11 digs, Johnson had 11 kills, hit .320, and had three blocks, Basaranlar recorded 36 assists, eight digs, and two kills, and Gex had 19 digs.
Cambell defeated Delaware, 3-1, to close out the weekend.
Mason had 12 kills and 14 digs, Johnson had 12 kills, hit .313, and had four blocks, Basaranlar recorded 34 assists, 11 digs, and four blocks. Murray had five kills, hit .455, and had five blocks, Gex had 24 digs, and Painter had 11 digs.

At Towson

Delaware defeated Towson, 3-2, to begin their first CAA road trip.
Mason had a game-high 22 kills and recorded 12 digs, while Grunza had 14 kills and hit .303. Basaranlar had 42 assists and 16 digs. Seemans had 20 digs.
Delaware fell to Towson, 3-2, in their second game against the Tigers. Mason had 16 kills, while Grunza had 14 and hit .357. Basaranlar had 41 assists and Seemans had 17 digs.

Vs Charleston

Delaware fell to Charleston 3-1 in the first matchup. Seemans had 16 kills and 13 digs, Basaranlar had 40 assists and 15 digs, and Gex had 17 digs.
Delaware came back from 2-0 to defeat Charleston in five sets, their first reverse sweep win since Nov. 17, 2022, also against Charleston during the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament.
Johnson had 13 kills, hit . 455, had five blocks, and picked up three aces. Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss had 13 kills and hit .435 in her first career start. Gex had 26 digs, Basaranlar had 39 assists and seven digs, and Lily Rogers had 11 assists.

At Northeastern

Delaware defeated Northeastern 3-0 in both matches. In game one, Johnson and Whitfied-Moss both had nine kills, while Basaranlar had 37 assists.
In game two, Mason had 12 kills, Johnson had 10, and Basaranlar had 34 assists.

At Stony Brook

Delaware defeated Stony Brook 3-0 and 3-1. In the first game, Mason had 10 kills, Grunza had nine kills and hit .412, Basaranlar had 26 assists, and Seemans had 13 digs.
In game two, Mason had 15 kills and hit .389, Grunza had 14 kills and hit .737, Johnson had 11 kills, hit .355, and had 13 blocks, Basaranlar had 39 assists, and Painter had 12 digs.
Johnson's 13 blocks were tied for the fourth most in program history. Before falling in the third set, Delaware had won 14 straight sets, their most consecutive set victories since winning 17 in a row from Sept. 14-25, 2007.

Vs Hofstra

Delaware completed a reverse sweep to defeat Hofstra in the first game before winning in three sets in the second game. Mason had 17 kills and 15 digs, while Seemans had 11 digs and 17 digs, Basaranlar had 48 assists, and Whitfield-Moss blocked five attacks.
In the second game, Mason had 10 kills, Basaranlar had 28 assists and five aces, Grunza had six blocks, and Gex had 21 digs.

At UNCW

Against UNCW, Delaware capped off a perfect October with their eighth and ninth wins of the month. Delaware completed their third reverse sweep of the month by coming back in the first game. Mason had 19 kills to lead the way, while Seemans had 30 digs and Gex had 14 digs.
Mason tallied 14 more kills in the second game, while Seemans had 12. Basaranlar had 40 assists and 13 digs.
Delaware went 27-8 in sets in October.

Vs N.C. A&T

Delaware recorded two 3-0 sweeps against the Aggies. In game one, Mason had 14 kills and hit .600, Grunza had eight kills and hit .438, Whitfield-Moss had eight kills and hit .429, Johnson had five kills and hit .400, and Basaranlar had 34 kills.
In game two, Grunza had 10 kills and hit .533, Mason had 10 kills and eight digs, Johnson had seven kills and hit .333, Whitfield-Moss had five kills and seven blocks, and Basaranlar had 32 assists.

CAA Awards

Asia Murray was named Co-Rookie of the Week on August 28.
Asia Murray was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 4.
Kirah Johnson was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 16 .
Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Oct. 23.
Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Nov. 6.

NCAA/CAA Rankings

Delaware ranks second in the CAA and 49th in NCAA in blocks per set (2.44).
Delaware ranks second in CAA and 43rd in NCAA in hitting percentage (.255).
Delaware ranks second in CAA in opponent's hitting percentage (.184).
Delaware ranks third in CAA and 16th in NCAA in aces per set (1.94).
Seemans ranks first in the CAA and eighth in NCAA in aces per set (0.57).
Mason ranks second in the CAA and 18th in NCAA in aces per set (0.50).
Mason ranks second in CAA in kills per set (3.58).
Johnson ranks first in CAA and 56th in NCAA in hitting percentage (.368).
Johnson ranks third in CAA in blocks per set (1.02).
Basaranlar ranks third in CAA in assists per set (9.43).

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Players Mentioned

Ezgi Basaranlar

Eileen Gex

Madelyn Grunza

Kirah Johnson

Lani Mason

Asia Murray

Lily Rogers

Savannah Seemans

Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss

University of Delaware Athletics