NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Sophomore Sam Seifert recorded a match-high 16 kills and added 10 digs as the Salisbury University volleyball team defeated Gallaudet University, 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-13, 25-13), in the first round of the NCAA Newport News Volleyball Regional at Christopher Newport University's Freeman Center Friday.

SU (32-3) advances to play CNU, which defeated Maryville (Tenn.) College, 3-0.

The Sea Gulls limited the Gallaudet (28-8) attack to just a .050 hitting percentage and hit .239 themselves for the win.

Junior Chelsea Glowacki posted eight kills, five blocks and three digs with just one attack error for a .318 hitting percentage. Fellow juniors Jenna Shay and Kelly Vieira tallied seven and four kills, respectively, while Vieira also registered 15 digs and a match-high seven blocks.

Salisbury used a kill by freshman Mattie Smith midway through the first game to take a 13-9 advantage and force a GU timeout. The Sea Gulls ran off the next three points, with the help of a Vieira block and Glowacki kill, to push it to a 16-9 game.

Three consecutive Bison errors opened a nine-point advantage at 20-11 as GU called another timeout. Gallaudet rallied to within seven, but an error gave SU the game and a 1-0 lead.

The second game was tight, featuring 10 ties and five lead changes. The Sea Gulls had a lead as big as four points at 16-12 before the Bison battled back to knot the score at 21-21 and benefited from a pair of SU miscues to tie the match, 1-1.

Salisbury stormed out to a 10-1 advantage in the third set on the strength of a block and kill each from Seifert and Glowacki and never looked back. Up 10-2, the Sea Gulls rattled off seven of the next nine, taking a 17-4 advantage with a Vieira kill.

SU allowed nine points for the rest of the game while hitting a match-best .450 to take a two-game lead.

SU was never seriously threatened in the fourth game as it took a 7-2 edge into another Gallaudet timeout. The Sea Gulls opened an 11-point, 22-11, lead when Glowacki earned a kill off a junior Carley Todd assist and SU put the match away five points later.

Todd finished with 24 of the team's 40 assists while freshman Michelle Meehan had a match-best 23 digs and three aces.

Kali Frowick and Jessica Israel totaled 11 and 10 kills, respectively for Gallaudet. Four Bison had double-digit digs led by Mari Klassen with 20.

Salisbury's match against Christopher Newport is scheduled to being at 6 p.m., on Saturday.