HUNTINGDON, Pa. - It was a tall order for the Salisbury University volleyball team to begin its season against the preseason No. 1 team in Division III. SU lost to Juniata College, two-time national champions, in straight sets 3-0 on Friday night here by the set scores of 18-25, 14-25, 9-25.

One of the new rules for collegiate volleyball in 2008 is the sets one through four only have 25 points now instead of 30.

A bright spot for the Sea Gulls was senior Jaime Marzocchi surpassed 1,500 assists for her career as she had 14 assists in the match. She now has 1,513 assists in her four-year career at SU and still ranks fourth all-time in program history.

Salisbury (0-1) kept the first set close as Juniata couldn't go on more than a three-point run at a time. Senior Stacey Krebs had three kills on nine attempts in the first set. She ended the night with six total kills as the Eagle defense doubled Krebs and junior Rachel Downes (two kills). Sophomore Alexandria Malesick had three kills in her SU debut.

Juniata (1-0) served really well as the Eagles had six service aces and took advantage of Salisbury's passing. Juniata was led by Amber Thomas (nine kills) and Steph Strauss (seven kills).

The Sea Gulls will next face No. 17 Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday morning in the second day of the Juniata tournament.