NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Salisbury University
volleyball team exacted revenge Friday night on the road against
the No. 20 Christopher Newport University with a thrilling 3-2
come-from-behind victory in the Freeman Center.
The Sea Gulls stretched their school best winning streak to 22
straight, which is tops currently in Division III, and are 2-1 this
season against nationally ranked opponents. Salisbury's only
setback came against No. 1 Juniata College in the first match of
the season on August 29.
Salisbury (22-1) ended a four-match losing streak against
Christopher Newport (15-4) with a 26-24, 25-27, 17-25, 25-21, 15-12
win. The loss ends the Captains' 12-match winning streak.
SU was swept last year by the Captains three times, in straight
sets, including a first round loss in the NCAA tournament. CNU also
defeated the Gulls, 3-1, in 2006 in the Freeman Center. Salisbury
still holds a comfortable 14-4 series advantage against CNU. The
series began in 1983 and took a hiatus for over a decade (starting
in 1996) and started back up recently in 2006. Salisbury's victory
against CNU is the first since 1995.
"What a great, great win for us," said SU coach Margie
Knight afterwards. "Our players made wonderful adjustments
in the match to propel us to the huge victory."
The Sea Gulls looked to be in control early as they squeaked out
a first set win (26-24) and were up in the second set 18-14 but
could not find a way to close it out and lost the set 27-25.
The set loss snapped a 29-set winning streak for the maroon and
gold. SU showed great character and poise as the Gulls never gave
up and earned the emotional win by winning the final two sets. This
is the first match this season that has gone the distance for
Salisbury.
Salisbury had three players record double-doubles in the win.
Senior setter Jaime Marzocchi paced the offense
with 45 assists and 15 digs. Senior Stacey Krebs
was solid with 13 kills and 16 digs. Junior Rachel
Downes had a great match on both sides of ball as she
recorded 10 kills and 22 digs. Junior Gabby Long,
who has been the anchor of the defense all year long, turned in
another solid defensive performance with 34 digs. Fellow junior
Nicole Massarelli recorded a team-high 14 kills.
Salisbury will return home and host Stevenson University
(18-2) on Tuesday, October 7, in a pivotal Capital Athletic
Conference contest. It is "Dig Pink" night at the Maggs Center. The
Sea Gulls and Mustangs will join over 500 volleyball teams across
the country in the fight against breast cancer. The match is
scheduled to start at 7 p.m. but fans are encouraged to arrive
early to enjoy the festivities. Free t-shirts will be given out to
the first 300 fans through the doors of Maggs Center. Plus, all
fans in attendance have a chance to be selected to serve for a 2009
Ford Flex donated by Preston Automotive Group during the 2nd and
3rd sets of the match. Fans are more than welcome to purchase
additional chances at the door, where all the proceeds and
donations will be used to benefit "Dig Pink". All fans are also
encouraged to wear something pink to show their support for breast
cancer awareness.
The Sea Gulls are more than halfway towards their donation goal
as a team. If you are interested in helping Salisbury reach its
goal please donate online here. Thank you for your support!
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