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Delaware Military Academy volleyball player Cassie Kowalski poses for a portrait at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark on Wednesday evening. Kowalski and DMA volleyball team won the school’s first state title at the Bob Carpenter Center on Monday night in their 3-1 victory over Archmere Academy.
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Delaware Military Academy volleyball player Cassie Kowalski poses for a portrait at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark on Wednesday evening. Kowalski and DMA volleyball team won the school’s first state title at the Bob Carpenter Center on Monday night in their 3-1 victory over Archmere Academy.
Senior, DMA volleyball
THE WEEK: Had 18 digs, 14 kills and two aces as the Seahawks completed a 20-0 season with a 3-1 victory over Archmere for Delaware Military Academy’s first DIAA state championship in any sport last Monday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
THE TITLE: “I think it’s really big for our school,” Kowalski said. “We’ve never been here in history, so it’s really big for our school and it’s big for me. I like to end like that, and it was a really good ending.”
THE VERSATILITY: “Cassie can do it all,” DMA coach John Grossman said. “She can hit, serve, pass, play defense, block. And she’s very smart. She’s always working hard and pushing the team.”
THE PERSISTENCE: “I don’t give up very easily,” Kowalski said. “In that game, I didn’t have my best offensive game, but my defense was still really strong. I don’t give up. I keep pushing every point.”
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Delaware Military Academy volleyball player Cassie Kowalski poses for a portrait at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark on Wednesday evening. Kowalski and DMA volleyball team won the school’s first state title at the Bob Carpenter Center on Monday night in their 3-1 victory over Archmere Academy.
THE ADVANTAGE:Kowalski is the only left-hander among the Seahawks’ starters. “It makes it more difficult to read what she’s doing,” Grossman said. “It’s very hard to get a read on where she’s hitting or how she’s putting the ball in a certain spot. It’s a good advantage for us to have.”
THE VETERAN: Kowalski, a three-year captain, is DMA’s only senior this year. “I’m going to miss them, so I hope they’re going to miss me, too,” she said.
THE COMEBACK: Archmere won the first set of the championship match 25-22, but DMA rallied to sweep the next three – 26-24, 25-22 and 25-19. “We pushed through it,” Kowalski said. “We knew we’ve been down before. … Our mentality and our attitude really helped us out a lot.”
THE CLASSROOM: “I’m in AP Calculus this year. It’s really stressful, but I like solving problems,” Kowalski said. “I like the subject.”
THE FUTURE: Kowalski hopes to study biology and continue her volleyball career at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. Her long-range goal is to become an orthodontist or eye doctor.
Send Athlete of the Week nominations to bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ