FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – For the second straight year, the Salisbury University volleyball team will play for a Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) championship.
 
The fourth-seeded Sea Gulls opened the C2C Tournament with a sweep of the fifth-seeded Mount Mary Blue Angels, 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-7), before upsetting the 22nd-ranked and top-seeded UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 26-24), in the semifinals on Friday afternoon at Ron Rosner Arena on the campus of the University of Mary Washington. Salisbury will face either second-seeded Mary Washington or third-seeded Christopher Newport in the C2C Championship match on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. MOUNT MARY

• The Sea Gulls raced out to a 10-5 advantage early in the first set, breaking double digits on an Angelina Casserly kill. After the Blue Angels netted two straight, SU rattled off an 8-1 run, ballooning the lead to 18-8.
• Salisbury eventually closed out the opening frame on a 6-2 push, locking it down when Brooke Young set up Casserly for a kill to punch it in at 25-11.
• Each side traded blows to open the second set, but SU eventually pushed a 7-5 lead up to 12-6 on a flurry started by a Natalie Uibel kill. MMU kept pace until the 13-9 mark, at which point Salisbury turned on the afterburners and notched for 12 of the next 13, putting the fixture on ice at 25-10.
• Alyssa DeWaal accounted for three kills during the 12-1 set-closing run, while Gwen Eustace clocked in with two kills and a solo block.
• Leading 7-4 in the third set, SU powered seven straight to push the advantage to 14-4, then after giving away a point on a service error the Sea Gulls strung together 10 more in a row to bring it to match point at 24-5. MMU managed two more points but committed a service error to put it in the books for the Sea Gulls, 25-7.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• The Sea Gulls used a balanced attack to dispatch MMU in a mere 55 minutes, with eight different players registering at least three kills.
• Jackie Mitchell led the way up front with five kills against no errors for an impressive .714 swing percentage, while Gwen Eustace shared the team lead with five kills (.300).
• Angelina Casserly, Jenna Feinauer, Delaney Madsen and Natalie Uibel powered four kills apiece. Amanda Chew and Alyssa DeWaal each chipped in three.
• Eustace accounted for two solo stuffs and contributed on three of SU's 10 blocks for the day. Feinauer also added three blocks (one solo).
• Blair Pausic set up a team-high 15 assists, while Ella Skye Franks added 10 assists and five digs.
• Grace Rail and Uibel shared the team lead with eight digs, while Kayla Pedersen chipped in seven. Rail also served up two of the Sea Gulls' six aces.
• Salisbury swung .441 for the match, its best mark of the season, powering down 36 kills against six errors on 68 attacks. SU did not have a shot blocked in the contest.

MOUNT MARY GAME NOTES

• Kaitlyn Powers led the Blue Angels with four kills on the day.
• Emma White contributed five assists and four digs.
• Brianna Ecker and Ava Ramos shared the team lead with seven digs each.
• MMU posted a -.141 hitting percentage in the match, landing 11 kills against 23 digs on 85 swings.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. UC SANTA CRUZ

• The teams boxed evenly through the first half of the opening set, then at the 14-14 mark the Banana Slugs used a pair of kills and a bad set to open up a 17-14 lead. The Sea Gulls eventually righted the ship, rallying from three down to tie it at 21-21 on two errors and a Delaney Madsen kill.
• UCSC inched ahead and held set point at 24-23, but Blair Pausic set up Madsen for the tying kill and Gwen Eustace powered down a kill to give SU set point at 25-24. The Banana Slugs fought off two set points and gained another chance to win it moments later on an Audrey Gilbert ace that made it 27-26.
• Undaunted, Amanda Chew blasted the tying kill and dealt a service ace to make it 28-27, then Natalie Uibel found the floor with a kill to salt the frame away for SU, 29-27.
• Salisbury opened the second set on a 4-1 run, then UCSC answered with four straight to go up 5-4. The teams traded runs from there, with the Banana Slugs later netting four in a row to take a 12-11 lead and the Sea Gulls answered with their own foursome to go back up 15-12.
• Leading 22-21 in the dying moments of the fixture, Chew and Jackie Mitchell powered back-to-back kills to make it 24-21, then after a Banana Slug kill Mitchell nailed down the set for SU, 25-22, with another kill.
• Trailing 4-1 early in the third set, UCSC went on an 8-0 run to grab hold of a 9-4 lead. The Sea Gulls regrouped and netted four straight, eventually going back in front 14-12 on a solo block from Madsen.
• Salisbury soon after went on a 6-2 push to build a 20-16 advantage. Staring down a sweep with a 22-18 deficit moments later, the Banana Slugs roared back with six of the next seven, all of a sudden holding set point at 24-23.
• Eustace fought off set point by blasting down an overpass, and Angelina Casserly rose up for a kill that made it match point at 25-24. Chew then unwound a big swing from the left side for the clinching kill, finishing off another straight-set win at 26-24.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jackie Mitchell led the Sea Gulls up front with 15 kills, chipping in two digs and two blocks (one solo) for good measure.
• Amanda Chew landed nine kills, including the match winner, and chased down a team-high 21 digs. The First-Team All-C2C selection also dealt a pair of service aces.
• Chew finished the day with 1,143 career kills, surpassing three players to take sole possession of eighth in program history.
• Gwen Eustace notched eight kills and four blocks (one solo), while Angelina Casserly powered seven kills (.294). Delaney Madsen punched in with four kills (.375), three blocks (two solo) and two aces.
• Blair Pausic flirted with a double-double, clocking a team-high 23 assists and nine digs. Brooke Young finished one shy of Pausic with 22 assists.
• C2C Defensive Player of the Year Grace Rail registered 19 digs.
• Salisbury hit .163 for the match, racking up 48 kills against 25 errors on 141 swings.
• The Sea Gulls have won five straight matches via sweep. SU has not lost a set since Oct. 22.
• The win assures Salisbury of its first 20-win season since 2016 when the team finished 20-8.
• SU has now defeated UC Santa Cruz in the C2C semifinals for two straight seasons. In 2021 the fourth-seeded Sea Gulls bested the top-seeded Banana Slugs 3-1.

UC SANTA CRUZ GAME NOTES

• C2C Offensive Player of the Year Samantha Taylor paced the Banana Slugs with 14 kills. She also added four blocks (three solo) and three digs.
• Sydney Ahrendt landed nine kills, while Ashley Magley chipped in six.
• Sinead Beaupain assisted on 18 kills, while Lauren Bliss tallied 16 assists and six digs.
• Emily Pasion chased down a team-high 22 digs.
• UCSC posted a .115 swing percentage, notching 37 kills against 22 errors on 130 attacks.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will battle either second-seeded Mary Washington or third-seeded Christopher Newport in the C2C Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m.
• Salisbury faced each team twice during the regular season, going 1-1 against CNU and 0-2 against UMW.
• SU is in the C2C title match for the second straight season after falling to CNU in five sets in 2021. The Sea Gulls are seeking their ninth conference championship and first since 2012, as well as their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2013.

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Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football, Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 189 conference championships and 43 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.