SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Salisbury University volleyball team earned a Saturday split at the Battle of the SUs, falling to the host Susquehanna River Hawks, 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-22), but recovering to sweep the Shenandoah Hornets, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-16), on Saturday afternoon at Orlando W. Houts Gym.

BOX SCORE vs. SUSQUEHANNA

BOX SCORE vs. SHENANDOAH

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. SUSQUEHANNA

• The River Hawks got off to a hot start, taking a 7-3 lead before Salisbury rallied for five in a row. Angelina Casserly notched two kills in a run that put the Sea Gulls up 8-7 and forced a Susquehanna timeout.
• Down 10-9, Salisbury went on another long run, bookended Jackie Mitchell kills, to take a 15-10 lead. The River Hawks eventually got it back down to 17-15 but Mitchell struck again with a kill to give the Sea Gulls breathing space.
• With Salisbury up 22-18 and closing in on a set one victory, Susquehanna seized control right back. Riley O'Dowd managed back-to-back kills, then Megan Nelson added a kill and an ace to tie it at 22-22 and force a Sea Gull timeout.
• Salisbury got the next point on a Caitlyn Edman kill, but the River Hawks scored the next three on an O'Dowd kill, Ryan Roris ace and a block by Kody Dillion and Madison Rockey, taking the opening set in dramatic 25-23 fashion.
• Wind knocked out of their sails, the Sea Gulls struggled to find their footing in the second set. Salisbury held a 5-4 lead after a Mitchell kill, but the River Hawks then rattled off six in a row, capped by an O'Dowd kill to force a Sea Gull timeout.
• Salisbury got a kill from Jenna Feinauer out of the timeout to make it 10-6 but never got closer than that for the rest of the set. Susquehanna rolled ahead and took a 22-13 lead before hammering home the final three points, winning set two 25-13 off an ace from Lizzie Herestofa.
• Susquehanna took another big lead early in the third set, with back-to-back kills from O'Dowd pushing the River Hawk lead to 11-4. The River Hawks led by as many as eight as Rosina Esposito hammered home a kill to push the advantage to 15-7.
• The Sea Gulls found their groove from there, though, to get back into the set. Mitchell fired off a kill, followed by a Casserly-Feinauer block and a Feinauer kill. Susquehanna spotted Salisbury one more on an attack error that tightened things up at 15-11.
• The River Hawks began to pull away again and rebuild the lead to 21-14 on another kill from O'Dowd. From there Salisbury strung together three in a row, capped by an ace from Feinauer, to get it to 21-17.
• Susquehanna closed in on the sweep with a 23-19 lead, but a Casserly kill, Kayla Pedersen ace and Casserly-Hannah Sullivan block cut the Sea Gull deficit to one at 23-22. After a timeout, Casserly committed an attacking error and Esposito finished it off with a kill, giving the River Hawks a 25-22 and the sweep.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jackie Mitchell led the Sea Gulls up front with nine kills. Angelina Casserly contributed eight kills of her own, while Caitlyn Edman added five.
• Jenna Feinauer and Natalie Uibel notched four kills each, with Feinauer contributing on three block assists.
• Brooke Young set up 15 assists and added seven digs. Ella Franks tallied eight assists.
• Darian DiMatteo led all defenders with a season-high 20 digs. She has tallied 19 digs or more in four straight matches.

SUSQUEHANNA GAME NOTES

• Riley O'Dowd powered a team-high 12 kills in the match.
• Rosina Esposito punched a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs.
• Madison Rockey set up 27 assists while also amassing five digs and three block assists.
• Lizzie Herestofa led the River Hawk back line with 11 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. SHENANDOAH

• The Sea Gulls and Hornets spent the early first set figuring each other out, but with the score tied at 8-8 Salisbury began surging ahead. After a service error, Jackie Mitchell, Caitlyn Edman and Hannah Sullivan rattled off three straight kills, building the Salisbury lead to 12-8 and forcing a Shenandoah timeout.
• Salisbury gave the serve back after the timeout but picked up three more in a row, capped by a solo block from Jenna Feinauer. The Sea Gulls earned two or three points to every Hornet point the rest of the set; sporting a 23-15 lead, Edman and Mitchell found the floor for kills to ice the first set at 25-15.
• After grabbing a quick 5-3 lead in the second set, Ella Franks set up Feinauer and Natalie Uibel for back-to-back kills to boost the lead to 7-3. The Sea Gulls kept the Hornets at an arm's length until the 11-7 mark when they rattled off five points in a row on an Edman-Feinauer block, a Feinauer solo block, two attacking errors and an ace from Darian DiMatteo, putting Salisbury on top 16-7.
• Salisbury went up as many as 10 with an Angelina Casserly kill boosting the cushion to 18-8. From there the Sea Gulls took care of business and eventually sealed up a 25-17 win on a Sullivan kill.
• The third set saw the Sea Gulls take a 1-1 tie and parlay it into a 9-1 lead, with Mitchell picking up three kills over the eight-point run and Feinauer notching a pair of kills. The Hornets responded with four in a row of their own, including two on Cheyenne Price aces, to make it 9-5, but Salisbury answered with five in a row as Uibel's kill made it 14-5 Sea Gulls.
• Shenandoah never got closer than six points the rest of the way. With a 20-14 advantage, Salisbury closed the final set on a 5-2 run, earning its final two points on bad sets to wrap up a 25-16 win and sweep.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jackie Mitchell was nearly unstoppable at the net for the Sea Gulls, pounding 12 kills with a .526 attacking percentage. She also added eight digs.
• Jenna Feinauer rose up for nine kills and swinging a remarkable .818, committing no attacking errors on 11 swings. She also swatted away two solo blocks and one block assist.
• Angelina Casserly, Caitlyn Edman and Hannah Sullivan notched six kills apiece, each swinging .312 or better.
• Ella Franks led Salisbury with 13 assists, while Brooke Young added 11 assists while also digging out six attacks and serving up two aces.
• Darian DiMatteo notched nine digs and added seven assists of her own, plus two of the Sea Gulls' six service aces.
• Salisbury hit .402 as a team, firing 44 kills and committing just nine attacking errors in the entire match.

SUSQUEHANNA GAME NOTES

• Kate Poppo led the Hornets with 12 kills, swinging at a .429 clip.
• Abby Lichtenfels notched 22 assists.
• Natalie Reader led the back line with eight digs. 

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls return home on Saturday, Sept. 18, for a tri-match against Christopher Newport and Swarthmore.
• Salisbury battles Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) rival CNU at 11 a.m., followed by CNU-Swarthmore at 1 p.m. and Salisbury-Swarthmore at 3 p.m.
• Coverage of all three games on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) begins 15 minutes prior to each first serve.