WILMINGTON — Just by stepping onto the court Tuesday night, the Dover High volleyball team was making history.

Though the program’s first appearance in the quarterfinal round of the DIAA state tournament ended with a 3-0 loss against second-seeded Padua Academy at St. Mark’s High, Dover coach Eric Riehl is excited about the program’s direction.

Riehl was especially excited after seeing the fight the girls showed in the third set, with their season slowly coming to a close.

“I am definitely so proud of them,” Riehl said. “I’m proud of them for what we did (this season), two milestones this year — we got the conference title and then to come to the quarterfinals. So I couldn’t be any more proud of them.”

The 25-17, 25-18, 25-20 sweep sets up Padua (13-4) with a semifinal showdown against No. 6 Wilmington Friends. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Mark’s.

Padua also snapped seventh-seeded Dover’s 11-match win streak, which dated back to a 3-0 sweep of conference foe Sussex Tech on Sept. 30.

The Senators’ impressive campaign ends at 15-3, including the Henlopen Conference title and a 3-1 second round win over No. 10 Middletown on Nov. 6. Dover has made four consecutive DIAA tourney appearances.

Padua, last year’s state runner-up after a title loss to St. Mark’s, earned a state title in 2019 and has earned three overall since 2012. The Pandas, led by coach Rainbow Shaw-Giaquinto, swept Smyrna 3-0 in the second round on Nov. 5.

For Dover, it proved to be the final match for the senior class of Kendra Williams, Olivia Anyanwu, Kim Czepukaitis, Olivia Czepukaitis and Emma Hodgson.

Kim Czepukaitis led the Senators in kills with 10, while Olivia Czepukaitis record six kills, Hodgson recorded two kills, two blocks and an ace and Williams added six kills and an ace. Freshman Elizabeth Baughman registered four kills and Anyanwu finished with three.

Padua was led by senior Audrey Lyons, who registered 32 assists, seven digs, one kill and one ace. Junior libero Amanda Quinn recorded a match-high 17 digs with two assists and one ace, while senior outside hitter Meghan Peters finished with a team-high 12 kills, four digs and two aces.

Dover kept it close in the first set, taking a 9-8 lead before Padua went on a 7-0 run to regain control on the way to a 25-17 win.

That first set featured four lead changes and the score was tied on seven occasions.

Dover scored first in the second set to take its only lead of the set, but the Senators never allowed the Pandas to pull ahead by more than seven points. They even pulled to within five points at 22-17 before Padua took advantage of some unforced errors to win 25-18.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the third set, Dover wasn’t quite ready to see its season come to a close. The teams exchanged leads and the Senators held a late lead, 20-19, before Padua closed it out with a 6-1 run.

“It’s the simple fact that their mentality as a team is part of what got them here,” said Riehl. “They never did give up and they fought for each other. That was one of their biggest mottos, they fight for each other. I’m just so proud of them.”