2023 Volleyball Season In-Review

NEWARK, Del. - The University of Delaware's 2023 volleyball season ended as one of the most historic seasons in program history, culminating with a fifth CAA Conference Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance along with a program record 15-match win streak.

Match-By-Match
Blue Hen Invitational

Delaware began the year hosting the Blue Hen Invitational and went 3-0 against Loyola (Md.), Niagara, and Robert Morris.
Ezgi Basaranlar was named MVP of the tournament after recording 110 assists, 26 digs, and 14 blocks in 11 sets. Kirah Johnson earned All-Tournament honors with 32 kills, 14 blocks, and had a .596 hitting percentage.
Against Loyola (Md.), Lani Mason had 14 kills and hit .520 with 11 digs.
Against Niagara, Savannah Seemans had 14 kills and hit .379.
Against Robert Morris, Mason had 20 kills and 12 digs.

UTSA Tournament

Delaware extended their win streak to six after winning all three matches in San Antonio, Texas at the UTSA Tournament.
Seemans was named Tournament MVP after recording 29 kills, 31 digs, and nine blocks. Basaranlar had 123 assists, 19 digs, and nine blocks in 12 sets, while Madelyn Grunza had 31 kills and hit .422, both earning All-Tournament honors.
In a five-set win in the opening game against Tarleton State, Grunza had 14 kills and hit .481, Basaranlar had 51 assists and seven blocks, and Asia Murray had 12 blocks.
Johnson had 13 kills and hit .480 against UTSA in the tournament's second game, while Murray picked up seven more blocks.
Delaware swept Lamar to wrap up the tournament, with Mason recording 13 kills and four aces in the finale. Delaware also went on a 10-0 run in the opening set to take an 11-1 lead.

Delaware Tournament

Delaware finished their non-conference schedule at 7-1 after splitting two games at the Delaware Tournament. Mason earned All-Tournament honors after having 32 kills in seven sets played and hitting .288.
Mason had 21 kills and hit .576 in four sets in a win over Rider. It was Delaware's first 20-kill, .500 hitting percentage game by a player since Oct. 3, 2014.

Vs Campbell

Delaware split their opening CAA series with Campbell. In the opening win, Seemans had 13 kills and 11 digs while hitting .360.
In the second game, Johnson had 12 kills and hit .313 with four total blocks, while Eileen Gex had 24 digs.

At Towson

Delaware went 1-1 on the road against Towson, earning their first win over the Tigers since 2016 and handing Towson their first home CAA loss since Oct. 2, 2021.
Both matches went five sets, with Delaware taking the first on Sept. 22. Mason had 22 kills and 12 digs, Basaranlar had six kills, 42 assists, and 16 digs, Grunza had 14 kills, hit .303, and had four blocks, Johnson had 13 kills and hit .571, Seemans had three aces and 20 digs, and Murray and five blocks.
In the second match, Grunza had 14 kills and hit .357, Mason had 16 kills and 10 digs, and Amelia Painter had 17 digs.

Vs Charleston

Delaware split their third straight CAA weekend series, going 1-1 against Charleston. Seemans had 16 kills in the opening match, Grunza had 15 kills, and Basaranlar had 40 assists and 15 digs.
Delaware began October with a reverse sweep victory, the start of their record 15-match win streak. Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss had 13 kills and hit .435 in her first career start, while Johnson added 13 kills, hit .455, and had five blocks. Gex had 26 digs.

At Northeastern

Delaware swept Northeastern in back-to-back matches without dropping a set. Whitfield-Moss had eight kills and hit .500, while Grunza had seven kills and hit .429 in the first match.
In the second match, Mason had 12 kills and 10 digs and Johnson had 10 kills and hit .389. Basaranlar had 71 assists in the two matches.

At Stony Brook

Delaware swept their second straight weekend series by defeating Stony Brook 3-0 and 3-1. Mason had 10 kills and four aces in the opening match.
In the second match, Mason had 15 kills, 10 digs, and hit .389, Grunza had 14 kills and hit .737, and Johnson had 11 kills, 13 blocks, and hit .355. Basaranlar also recorded her 3,500th career assist during the match. After claiming the second set, Delaware had won 14 consecutive sets dating back to Oct. 1. They also went on their second 10-0 run of the season during the second set, which they won 25-8. Johnson's 13 blocks were two shy of tying the program record in a single-match.

Vs Hofstra

Delaware extended their winning streak with two wins at home against Hofstra, first in a reverse sweep, then in straight sets.
In the first match, Mason had 17 kills and 15 digs, Johnson had 14 kills and hit .300, Basaranlar had 48 assists, and Seemans had 17 digs.
In the second match, Gex had 21 digs, Mason had 10 kills and 10 digs, Basaranlar had 28 assists, five aces, and seven digs, Grunza had eight kills and five blocks, and Seemans had eight kills, four aces, and four digs. Gex's 21 digs were the most by a Delaware player in a three-set match since Oct. 25, 2019.

At UNCW

Delaware wrapped up an undefeated October with two road wins against UNCW - one win being another reverse sweep victory and the other in four sets.
In the first match, Mason had 19 kills, Seemans had 20 digs, and Gex had 14 digs. Delaware went on an 11-0 run in the fourth set, their third 10-0 run of the season.
In game two, Mason had 14 kills and four aces, Basaranlar had 40 assists and 13 digs, Seemans had 12 kills and 10 digs, and Murray had five blocks. Delaware went 27-8 in sets in October.

Vs North Carolina A&T

The Blue Hens won their final two home games of the season by sweeping N.C. A&T in both matches. Delaware hit .405 in the first match - with Mason hitting .600 with 14 kills, Grunza hitting .438 with eight kills, and Whitfield-Moss hitting .429 with eight kills. They held N.C. A&T to a .114 hitting percentage.
Delaware celebrated Senior Day with their 20th win of the season. Grunza had 10 kills and hit .533, Whitfield-Moss had five kills and seven blocks, and Basaranlar had 32 assists. Delaware held N.C. A&T to a hitting percentage of -.022.

At Elon

Delaware finished the regular season with their 12th and 13th consecutive wins, defeating Elon on the road 3-0 and 3-1. Mason had 12 kills and Delaware held Elon to a hitting percentage of .084 in the first match, their second straight game holding an opponent to a hitting percentage under .100 and 11th straight under .200.
In the second match, Mason had 21 kills, 12 digs, and hit .333, Gex had 16 digs, and Basaranlar had 48 assists.

CAA Tournament

Delaware won their fifth CAA Conference Tournament Championship by defeating No. 3 seed Campbell 3-1 and No. 1 seed and host Towson 3-1.
Against Campbell, Mason had 17 kills and 11 digs, Basaranlar had 43 assists, Gex had 24 digs, Grunza hit .400 with 13 kills and four blocks, and Johnson had 11 kills with five blocks. Mason recorded her 1,500th kill of her career during the match,
Against Towson, Mason had 20 kills, 10 digs, four blocks, and hit .288, Basaranlar had 44 assists and 10 digs, Gex has 22 digs, Grunza had 14 kills, Seemans had 10 kills, three aces, and 18 digs, and Whitfield-Moss had nine kills, five blocks, and hit .529. Delaware's victory was their 15th in a row, a new program record, and became the first team ever to win two games against Towson in SECU Arena in a season. Delaware also finished the season 11-1 in road games, the most road wins in a season in program history.

NCAA Tournament

Delaware played No. 8 seed Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Lincoln, Neb.
Seemans had seven kills and hit .467 with four aces, Mason had nine kills, and Johnson had five blocks. Seemans reached 1,000 career digs during the match. Her four aces were a new program record in an NCAA Tournament match.

Awards/Honors
Lani Mason

First-Team All-CAA
CAA Tournament MOP and All-Tournament
Delaware Invitational All-Tournament
CAA Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason All-Conference

Ezgi Basaranlar

Second-Team All-CAA
CAA All-Tournament
Blue Hen Invitational MVP and All-Tournament
Roadrunner Classic All-Tournament
CAA Preseason Honorable Mention

Kirah Johnson

Second-Team All-CAA
Blue Hen Invitational All-Tournament
CAA Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 16)

Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss

CAA All-Rookie
CAA Rookie of the Week (Oct. 23, Nov. 6)

Madelyn Grunza

CAA All-Tournament
Roadrunner Classic All-Tournament

Asia Murray

CAA Co-Rookie of the Week (August 28)
CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 4)

Savannah Seemans

Roadrunner Classic Tournament MVP and All-Tournament

Records/Milestones

Most consecutive wins - 15
Most road wins - 11
Service aces in NCAA Tournament game - 4, Savannah Seemans
Lani Mason reached 1,557 career kills, the fourth most in program history.
Ezgi Basaranlar reached 3,946 career assists, the fourth most in program history.
Savannah Seemans recorded her 1,000th career dig.

Notes

Kimberly Lambert's 41 wins are the most by a Delaware head coach in their first two seasons in program history.
Delaware's 24 wins were their most since winning 26 in 2010 and their .828 winning percentage is their second best in program history (.861 in 2007).
Nationally, Delaware finished 22nd in aces per set (1.86), 37th in hitting percentage (.257), and 20th in winning percentage (.828).
Seemans finished fifth in aces per set (0.58) and total aces (64), Mason finished 27th in aces per set (0.46) and total aces (51).
Seemans and Mason were one of three teammates to have at least 50 assists during the season, joining Jillian Gillen and Hannah Hogue of Arkansas and Lexie Almodovar and Taylor Russell of Dayton.
Delaware's 21.5 blocks against Tarleton State on Sept. 1 was the third most they have had in a match in program history.
Kirah Johnson's 13 blocks on Oct. 15 against Stony Brook was tied for the fourth most in a match in program history.
Asia Murray's 12 blocks on Sept. 1 against Tarleton State was tied for the eighth most in a match in program history.
Lani Mason, Eileen Gex, Ezgi Basaranlar, Kirah Johnson, and Savannah Seemans played in all 111 sets during the season.
Mason's 3.64 kills per set was the 11th most in program history in a season.
Mason's 3.72 kills per set for her career is the third-best in program history.
Mason's 155 career aces is the 10th most in program history.
Seemans' 0.57 aces per set was the sixth most in program history in a season.
Seemans' 156 career aces are currently the ninth-best in program history.
Basaranlar's 9.35 assists per set is the sixth-best in program history.
Delaware's three All-Conference honorees are their most since 2011.

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Players Mentioned

Ezgi Basaranlar

Eileen Gex

Madelyn Grunza

Kirah Johnson

Lani Mason

Asia Murray

Amelia Painter

Savannah Seemans

Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss

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