BALTIMORE, Md. – The Salisbury University volleyball team battled hard but ultimately dropped two tri-match decisions, falling to the top-ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, 3-1 (26-24, 25-16, 20-25, 25-17), and the Carnegie Mellon Tartans, 3-1 (25-23, 28-26, 24-26, 25-18), on Friday evening at the Newton H. White Center.

BOX SCORE vs. JOHNS HOPKINS

BOX SCORE vs. CARNEGIE MELLON

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. JOHNS HOPKINS

• After giving up the first five points of the match and falling behind 8-2 in the first set, the Sea Gulls rode a Jenna Feinauer kill to a 7-3 run, getting back within 11-9 on a kill by Natalie Uibel. The Blue Jays soon rebuilt their lead to 14-11 but Salisbury then scored four in a row, with a Jackie Mitchell strike giving SU a 15-14 advantage.
• JHU got the next point to tie it at 15-15, but the Sea Gulls then scored three in a row on an error and kills by Mitchell and Feinauer, building the SU lead to 18-15. Salisbury saw its lead shrink to 19-18 later in the set but reinforced it with a Uibel kill and error to go up 21-18.
• With the Sea Gulls leading 23-20, the Blue Jays strung together three in a row kills by Sydney Portale, Danielle Norman and Eleni Panagopoulos, tying the score at 23-23. Mitchell answered with a kill to give SU set point at 24-23, but Norman landed a kill and then a service ace, and JHU took the first set 26-24 on a Salisbury error.
• Salisbury responded to a disappointing first set by taking a 5-3 lead early in set two, but the Blue Jays answered in a big way with eight straight points, capped by a kill from Lauren Anthony to go in front 11-5.
• The Sea Gulls never got closer than five the rest of the set, and Elayna Williams' kill put the second set away for JHU, 25-16.
• The third set saw each team go on an early run as Salisbury scored the first three points and Johns Hopkins took the next five to go in front 5-3. After swapping a point each, the Sea Gulls went on the attack, with Feinauer bookending a 5-0 run with kills to put SU on top 9-6.
• The Sea Gulls ballooned their lead to 16-10 on a block from Hannah Einbrod and Hannah Sullivan. From there the Blue Jays went on a 7-2 run to get within 18-17 and threaten to surge ahead. Unlike the first set, though, Salisbury buckled down, using an Angelina Casserly-Feinauer block to stop the bleeding and spark a 4-0 run that Casserly capped with a kill, making it 22-17.
• JHU nabbed the next three to get within 22-20, but Casserly answered with a strike and Brooke Young served up back-to-back aces to finish off the set at 25-20.
• Leading 7-6 early in set four, the Blue Jays rattled off five in a row and eventually nine-of-10 to take a 15-7 stranglehold. Sullivan and Feinauer nailed back-to-back kills to give SU some momentum at 15-9, but JHU never let their lead shrink under six the rest of the way, finishing the 25-17 set win and clinching the match on an ace by Natalie Aston. 

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Four Sea Gulls tied for the team lead with eight kills, with Angelina Casserly, Jenna Feinauer, Jackie Mitchell and Natalie Uibel combining for 32 of their team's 40 strikes on the night.
• Ella Franks and Brooke Young tied for the team lead in assists with 15 apiece. Young also landed five service aces and contributed six digs.
• Darian DiMatteo led the way from the back with 14 digs.
• Casserly and Hannah Einbrod each had big days at the front line, posting four blocks apiece with Casserly contributing two solo stuffs and Einbrod one solo.

JOHNS HOPKINS GAME NOTES

• Danielle Norman led all attackers with 19 kills on 51 swings, while Elayna Williams added 16 kills of her own.
• Natalie Aston notched a double-double with 37 assists and 14 digs to go along with four aces.
• Aston's 14 digs led the Blue Jays, with Evelyn Batista finishing just behind her with 13.
• The Blue Jays, who won the most recent Division III national championship in 2019, have now won 51 consecutive matches since the beginning of 2019. JHU is now tied with Bates College (1988-90) for the third-longest volleyball winning streak in Division III history and the sixth-longest winning streak across all NCAA divisions.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. CARNEGIE MELLON

• The Sea Gulls and Tartans began the match with three straight sets decided by razor-thin margins. The teams set the tone early in the first set, which featured ties at every point from 3-3 to 9-9. CMU then went ahead 11-9 on an error and Anna Cao kill, but Salisbury soon responded and drew even at 12-12 on a Jackie Mitchell kill.
• Up 14-13, the Tartans rattled off four in a row to take a 18-13 lead, but Salisbury answered with four in a row of their own, getting it back to 18-17 after an ace from Ella Franks. The teams continued trading blows and stayed knotted up at 20-20 and 21-21.
• CMU got a block from Cao and Jane Dean, followed by a Cao kill and attack error to get to set point at 24-21. The Sea Gulls answered with kills from Hannah Sullivan and Brooke Young to get back within 24-23, but Carrie Stewart's kill iced it for the Tartans, 25-23.
• Salisbury charged out of the gate in set two, taking a 5-1 lead on a rally that featured kills from Jenna Feinauer, Hannah Einbrod and Mitchell. CMU soon swung the pendulum back and evened the score at 6-6, but the Sea Gulls rebuilt their lead to 11-7 after an Angelina Casserly strike and maintained a multi-point lead for most of the set.
• The Sea Gulls came within striking distance of a set victory after Mitchell's kill put them up 23-17, but the Tartans came roaring back for six in a row, tying it at 23-23 on a Carrie Stewart kill. Mitchell and Casserly each gave SU set points on kills that made it 24-23 and 25-24, but CMU answered each time.
• The Tartans got to set point on a block from Dean and Stella Yan, but Natalie Uibel evened things at 26-26 with a kill. CMU finally put it in the bag, though, as Dean and Cao rattled back-to-back kills to finish off a 28-26 second set.
• Salisbury took an early 3-1 lead in set three as Mitchell notched back-to-back kills and Feinauer added one of her own. The Sea Gulls built on their lead throughout the set, eventually going up 15-10 on Kayla Pedersen's ace.
• The Tartans got back into it with three straight points to make it 15-13, but the Sea Gulls nipped that rally before it got any further and maintained a multi-point lead, eventually going up 22-19 on an ace from Mitchell.
• CMU then scored four in a row to snag a 23-22 lead, but two straight attack errors flipped the score back in Salisbury's favor at 24-23. After Yan tied it at 24-24 on a kill, Casserly launched a kill and followed it up with a set-clinching ace, securing the third set for Salisbury 26-24.
• The teams boxed evenly through the early fourth set, with the Sea Gulls taking a 10-8 lead on a kill from Young. The Tartans found their stroke from there, though, notching eight in a row to surge ahead 16-10.
• Salisbury could never find a rhythm for the rest of the set, and Olivia Devereux finished it off with a kill that gave CMU a 25-18 win and match victory.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jackie Mitchell came one kill shy of a career high with 16 strikes, reaching double-digit kills for the fifth time this season.
• Angelina Casserly contributed nine kills, while Jenna Feinauer added eight. Natalie Uibel and Blair Pausic each had seven kills.
• Brooke Young set a new career high with 25 assists. She also dug out eight attacks.
• Darian DiMatteo notched a team-high 17 digs, while Mitchell added nine.

CARNEGIE MELLON GAME NOTES

• Vivian Beaudoin led all attackers with 19 kills, with Anna Cao (12) and Carrie Stewart (10) each registering double-digit kills.
• Stella Yan assisted 45 kills on the night.
• Cao and Yan tied for the Tartan lead with 17 digs.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls turn around for another tri-match on Saturday, hosted by Widener University in Chester, Pa.
• Salisbury does battle with Wilkes at 2 p.m., followed by a showdown against host Widener at 4 p.m.