CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Salisbury University volleyball team returned to its winning ways by sweeping the Washington (Md.) Shorewomen, 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-21), on Tuesday night at Penny J. Fall Gym.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After falling behind 5-2 in the first set, the Sea Gulls netted six of the next nine points to even things at 8-8. Down 9-8 moments later, Delaney Madsen powered back-to-back kills and teamed up with Angelina Casserly for a block as part of a four-point swing that put SU in control, 12-9.
• Salisbury pushed further ahead but Washington answered twice, keeping pace at 16-13 and 20-17. Then Jackie Mitchell landed a kill, followed by a ball handling error and a Grace Rail ace to make it 23-17. After giving up the next two, Natalie Uibel put away the opening set at 25-19 with two straight kills.
• The teams opened the second set by trading rallies, with Washington cutting a 10-6 deficit to 10-9 on three straight SU errors. From there the Sea Gulls caught fire: a Uibel kill, Madsen - Gwen Eustace block and back-to-back aces from Blair Pausic made it 14-9, then after spotting the Shorewomen one, SU rattled off six more in a row, capped by the Pausic-to-Madsen connection that made it 20-10.
• Salisbury closed out the frame moments later by scoring the final four points, with Amanda Chew's kill salting it away at 25-12.
• The Sea Gulls held sizeable leads of 12-7 and 17-11 in the early stages of the third set, but Washington closed the gap by netting five-of-six, including an Allison McKechnie ace that brought the home side within 18-16. Madsen and Mitchell powered down kills that pushed the lead back to 20-16, but the Shorewomen then rattled off three of the next four to cut the deficit to 21-20.
• From there SU regrouped, using a Eustace kill, attack error and Casserly kill to make it match point at 24-20. The teams then traded errors and the Sea Gulls walked out of Chestertown with a 25-21 third-set win and sweep.

• Amanda Chew paced a balanced Sea Gull attack with 11 kills on a .400 hitting percentage (20 attacks, three errors). She also added eight digs and two block assists.
• Delaney Madsen powered down eight kills against no errors for an astounding .727 attack rate. Madsen also teamed up for assists on six of SU's seven blocks.
• Jackie Mitchell racked up seven kills, while Angelina Casserly and Natalie Uibel each landed six.
• Blair Pausic led the team with 15 assists, plus three digs and three of the Sea Gulls' seven service aces.
• Brooke Young chipped in 13 assists, four digs and two aces.
• Grace Rail chased down a team-high 17 digs and added five assists.
• Salisbury posted a season-high .381 hitting percentage, landing 43 kills against 11 errors on 84 swings.
• The SU front line blocked seven attacks and forced Washington to hit at a mere .056 clip.
• The Sea Gulls have now won seven-of-eight to open the 2022 season, including five victories via straight sets.

• Angelina Schaber powered down nine kills to lead the Shorewomen.
• Lindsay Saddic added six kills of her own.
• Allison McKechnie notched 11 assists, while Brooklyn Pugner chipped in nine.
• Jordan Fairchild posted a team-high nine digs.

• The Sea Gulls return to Salisbury for the first home games of the Nikki Binetti era on Saturday afternoon.
• SU host a tri-match, battling Muhlenberg at 12 p.m. and Virginia Wesleyan at 4 p.m. Muhlenberg and VWU will face off against each other at 2 p.m.
• Coverage of Saturday's games at the Maggs Physical Activities Center on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) will begin at 11:45 a.m.

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 learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.