2024 Volleyball Season In-Review

NEWARK, Del. - University of Delaware volleyball wrapped up another historic season in 2024, culminating with a CAA Regular Season Championship in their final year in the conference. The Blue Hens finished with a 20-7 and 15-3 record.

Match-By-Match
Michigan Nike Classic

Delaware went 1-1 to begin the season at the Michigan Nike Classic, against Michigan and Kent State.
Savannah Seemans (25 kills and 32 digs in eight sets) and Kirah Johnson (20 kills, .364 hitting percentage, 10 blocks in eight sets) were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
Seemans (21) and Cadence Nguyen (24) both recorded over 20 digs against Michigan.
Johnson hit .567 with eight kills and four blocks in a three-set win over Kent State.

Hawkeye Invite

Seemans earned another All-Tournament selection after recording 29 kills, 30 digs, and eight aces in 11 sets.
Against Cal Baptist, Lily Rogers had 31 assists and Anna Logan Gillens hit .296 with 13 kills in a three-set win.
Seemans had 13 kills and 13 digs against Iowa, and Johnson had 12 kills and hit .333.
Seemans had nine kills, 10 digs, and four aces against San Jose State, her 100th match played of her career.

Blue Hen Invitational

Delaware went 2-0 at the Blue Hen Invitational in their first home games of the season to wrap up non-conference play.
Rogers was named MVP of the tournament after recording 80 assists, nine kills, a .750 hitting percentage, 13 digs, and eight blocks in eight sets played. Gillens was an All-Tournament selection after recording a team-best 28 kills and hitting .295.
Gillens had 11 kills and hit .500 in a three-set victory over Marist. Delaware hit .429 as a team, their best since Nov. 8, 2019, and held Marist to a -.031 hitting percentage, their best since Sept. 4, 2021
Delaware defeated Howard, the MEAC Regular Season Champions, in five-sets to close out non-conference play.
Rogers had 51 assists, 12 digs, six kills, a .667 hitting percentage, and four blocks. Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss hit .480 with 15 kills and eight blocks, Gillens had a team-best 17 kills, and Johnson recorded 14 kills, hit .355, and had seven blocks.
Rogers became the first Delaware player with at least 50 assists and five kills in a match since Sept. 28, 2019.

At Campbell

Delaware began CAA play with two straight-set victories over Cambell.
Gillens hit .571 with a match-high 14 kills in the first game.
Johnson hit .706 with 12 kills in the second match, while Gillens again had 14 kills and hit .458. Rogers had 31 assists.

Vs Towson

In a rematch of the previous two CAA Championship Matches, Delaware went 1-1 against Towson.
The Blue Hens won the first match, 3-1, behind 13 kills and five blocks from Johnson. Seemans had 13 kills and 11 digs, Whitfield-Moss had 12 kills and hit .450, and Rogers had 45 assists.
The win was Delaware's 18th-straight against a CAA opponent - at the time the seventh longest active conference win streak in the country. It was also the longest streak by a CAA team since Towson's 21-match win streak from 2019-Spring 2021.
Delaware was defeated in five sets in the second match. Johnson had 15 kills, a .371 hitting percentage, an ace, and five blocks.

Vs UNCW

UD won both matches against UNCW, 3-0 and 3-1.
Whitfield-Moss had 12 kills and hit .364 with five blocks in the first match. Rogers had 34 assists. Delaware held UNCW to a .139 hitting percentage.
Rogers had 44 assists in the second match. Seemans had 21 digs, 10 kills, five aces, and two blocks. Raina Hughes had nine kills with a .467 hitting percentage and four blocks. UNCW hit .118 as a team.
The win was head coach Kimberly Lambert's 50th at Delaware. She became the fastest coach in program history to reach 50 wins, needing just 70 games. Delaware Hall of Famer Barbara Viera needed 76 games to reach 50 wins.

At William & Mary

Rogers had 48 assists in eight sets played against The Tribe.
Raina Hughes had a career-high tying 15 kills in UD's second match, while Emily Chrysogelos had a career-high seven kills.

Vs Northeastern

Delaware dominated Northeastern, winning all six sets and holding them to single-digits in points in two of the sets.
Whitfield-Moss hit .62 with eight kills and four blocks in the first match and Rogers had 34 assists, eight digs, and two blocks. Delaware went on a 10-0 run in the third set.
Seemans recorded her 1,000th career kill in the second match of the weekend. Rogers added 36 more assists. Delaware went on an 11-0 run in the second set - their longest of the season.

At Hofstra

Delaware turned its season around with a weekend sweep of Hofstra to pull into a four-way tie for first place in the CAA. UD snapped Hofstra's nine-match win streak to begin the weekend by completing a reverse sweep, then finished off the weekend with a five-set victory.
Gillens hit .283 with 26 kills in the first match, Rogers had 57 assists and 20 digs, Johnson had 20 kills and Seemans had 20 digs, and Nguyen had 22 digs, Hannah Wright had 17, and Taylor Holly had 10.
Hofstra led 24-21 in the third set, 20-15 in the fourth, and 12-6 in the fifth set before Delaware came-from-behind to win all three.
Rogers became the first Delaware player with at least 50 assists and 20 digs in a match since Oct. 12, 2018.
Gillens' 26 kills were a season-best by a Blue Hen this year.
Johnson and Gillens each had 15 kills in the second match, while Rogers had 50 assists.

Vs Stony Brook

Johnson became the fifth player in program history to record 400 career blocks as Delaware went 2-0 against Stony Brook to begin November.
In the first match, Seemans had 15 kills, Rogers had 40 assists, Nguyen had 19 digs, and Wright had four aces.
In the second match, Gillens hit .364 with 15 kills, Johnson hit .500 with 11 kills, and Rogers had 38 assists.

At Hampton

Delaware swept a weekend series against Hampton with both games being straight-set victories in their final road matches.
Johnson hit .692 with 10 kills while Whitfield-Moss hit .353 with 11 kills in the first match.
In the second match, Rogers had 40 assists and Johnson hit .800 with 12 kills.
Johnson recorded the sixth game in program history with at least double-digit kills and an .800 hitting percentage, and had the ninth best hitting percentage ever in program history in a single-match.

Vs Elon

Entering the final regular season weekend of the year in a four-way tie, Delaware clinched a tie of the CAA Regular Season with a sweep of Elon, locked up a top-two seed in the CAA Tournament, and wrapped up a program record of 18-straight set victories.
Seemans had 10 kills, 19 digs, and six aces while hitting .556 in the first match.
Delaware's 25-7 set one victory was its largest of the season and the largest set victory since defeating Loyola 25-7 in set two on Sept. 15, 2015.
Gillens hit .324 with 15 kills in the second match.
The win was UD's 10th in a row.

CAA Tournament
Vs No. 3 Towson

Delaware met up with Towson again in the CAA Tournament for the fourth season in a row, including last year's victory over the Tigers in the CAA Championship.
Delaware won in four sets to advance to its third-straight CAA Championship.
Seemans became the the fourth player in program history to record 200 career aces during the match.
Hughes had a season and career-best tying 15 kills in the match and hit .448.
Johnson hit .367 with 14 kills.
Rogers had 40 assists.
Nuyen had 17 digs.
Holly had eight digs, the most by a UD freshman in the CAA Tournament since 2019.
Delaware became the ninth team in CAA history to go to three consecutive CAA Championship Matches.

Vs No. 1 Charleston

Delaware finished the season with a record of 20-7.
Johnson had 21 kills in the championship match, and Whitfield-Moss hit .333 with 13 kills. Nguyen had 24 digs.
Johnson's 21 kills tied a Delaware CAA Championship Match record.
Nguyen's 24 digs were the second most by a Delaware player in a CAA Championship Match.

Awards/Honors
Lily Rogers

CAA Setter of the Year
First-Team All-CAA
Second-Team All-ECAC
CAA All-Tournament Team
Blue Hen Invitational MVP
CAA Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 21, Nov. 4)
CSC Academic All-District

Kirah Johnson

First-Team All-CAA
Second-Team All-ECAC
CAA All-Tournament Team
Michigan Nike Classic All-Tournament Team
CAA Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 28, Nov. 4)
CAA Preseason All-Conference
CSC Academic All-District

Savannah Seemans

Michigan Nike Classic All-Tournament Team
Hawkeye Invite All-Tournament
CAA Preseason All-Conference
CSC Academic All-District

Anna Logan Gillens

Second-Team All-CAA
Blue Hen Invitational All-Tournament

Cadence Nguyen

CAA Defensive of the Week (Nov. 11)
CSC Academic All-District

Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss

CAA Preseason All-Conference Honorable Mention

Records/Milestones

Most consecutive set victories - 18 (Nov. 2-Nov. 16)
Most conference victories, tied - 15
Kills in a CAA Championship Match, tied - 21, Kirah Johnson
Savannah Seemans reached 1,000 career kills and 200 career aces
Kirah Johnson reached 400 career blocks.
Kimberly Lambert won her 50th career match at Delaware.

Notes

Lambert became the fastest coach in program history to reach 50 wins, needing just 70 games. Delaware Hall of Famer Barbara Viera needed 76 games to reach 50 wins.
Delaware's .741 winning percentage this season was the sixth best in program history. It was the fourth time Delaware has recorded at least a .700 winning percentage in back-to-back seasons in program history (also done from 2009-2010, 2006-2007, and 1976-1977.
The Blue Hens won at least 20 games in a season for the second-straight year. It's the first time Delaware has won at least 20 matches in two-straight years since doing so in three straight seasons from 2009-2011.
Delaware became the ninth team in CAA history to to go to at least three consecutive CAA Championship Matches, joining Towson (2019-2023), James Madison (2016-2019, 1985-1987), Charleston (2013-2015), Delaware (2010-2012), George Mason (2000-2003, 1992-1997), and William & Mary (1984-1991).
Seemans ended her career having played in every set of every match of her five-season career.
Seemans became the eighth player in program history to reach at least 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, joining Karen Beegle, Joanna Dusza, Kathy Shaw, Kim Stewart, Kelly Gibson, Emily Rome, and Carlyn Cangiano.
Seemans became the fourth player in program history to record 200 career aces, joining Pam Chorley, Lori Gabbert, and Julie Earhart.
Seemans finished her career averaging 0.43 aces per set, sixth best in program history.
Johnson became the sixth player in program history with at least 400 blocks. She joined Karen Kunselman (591), Paige Erickson (464), Emily Rome (456), Jennifer Wanner (417), and Jerelyn Lawson (416). She finished with 431 for her career.
Johnson also finished her career with a lifetime. 306 hitting percentage, one five players in program history with at least a .300 hitting percentage, and 1.03 blocks per set, third best in program history.
Rogers became the fourth player in program history to earn CAA Setter of the Year, joining Megan Welch (2007), Jess Chason (2009, 2010), and Renee Tomko (2011).
Rogers became the first CAA player to earn Offensive Player of the Week twice as a setter in the same season since 2011.
Gillens became the first Delaware player in their true sophomore season or earlier to earn All-Conference honors since Rogers' Second-Team recognition in Spring 2021, and the first in a full season since Maria Bellinger in 2017.
This was the first time since 2011 Delaware has had two players as CAA First-Team selections.
Rogers, Seemans, Johnson, and Nguyen played in all 101 sets during the season.
Delaware finished second in the CAA in hitting percentage (.238) and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.174). Their .174 opponent hitting percentage was 35th in NCAA.
Rogers led the CAA and finished 31st in NCAA in assists per set (10.37). She was also sixth in aces per set (0.37).
Johnson ranked second in the CAA and 96th in NCAA in blocks per set (1.15) and second in CAA in hitting percentage (.331).
Seemans ranked second in CAA and 52nd in NCAA in aces per set (0.44) and third in CAA in total aces (44).
Gillens ranked seventh in CAA in kills per set (3.23).

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University of Delaware Athletics

Players Mentioned

Emily Chrysogelos

Anna Logan Gillens

Taylor Holly

Raina Hughes

Kirah Johnson

Kirah Johnson

Cadence Nguyen

Lily Rogers

Savannah Seemans

Savannah Seemans

Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss

Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss

Hannah Wright

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