WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Salisbury University volleyball team won both of its matches to open the two-day Worthington Classic, besting the Marymount (Va.) Saints, 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 25-27, 25-17), and outlasting the Catholic Cardinals, 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14), on Friday afternoon at Gallaudet Field House.
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HOW IT HAPPENED vs. MARYMOUNT
- Both teams strung together runs early in the first set, but the Saints broke a 13-13 tie with four points in a row, capped by an Elissa Munsterman block that made it 17-13. The Sea Gulls got back into it with their own 4-0 run on a pair of Amanda Chew kills, a Gwen Eustace strike and an attack error that knotted things at 17-17.
- The teams traded the next handful of points, but SU erased a 20-19 hole with another four-point push. Jenna Feinauer and Natalie Uibel teamed up for a block and each landed kills to help Salisbury go up 23-20. MU landed one more kill but committed two straight errors to give the first set to SU, 25-21.
- Salisbury seized control early in the second set, using a 6-1 run to flip a 2-2 tie into an 8-3 lead. The Saints tried to quell momentum with two straight, but the Sea Gulls then powered five in a row. Eustace contributed two kills and assisted on a block over the 5-0 spell that propelled the SU lead to 13-5.
- Marymount would get no closer than seven points for the rest of the set, as Brooke Young found Jenna Feinauer for the clinching kill to ice it at 25-14.
- After the Sea Gulls raced to a 4-0 cushion to open the third set, the Saints rallied to take an 11-10 lead. The teams traded spells of points through the rest of the fixture, but SU flipped a 23-21 hole into a 24-23 advantage on an attack error and kills by Jackie Mitchell and Chew.
- Marymount fought off set point and had a chance to close it out before Eustace tied it 25-25 on a kill. The Saints put it away from there, though, on an error and Anna Anderson kill, avoiding the sweep with a 27-25 triumph.
- The Sea Gulls survived a 3-0 hole to open the fourth set to grab a 5-4 lead that eventually ballooned to 9-5 on a run capped by another strike from Eustace.
- MU regrouped and kept pace up until the 17-16 mark, at which point Chew and Young engaged in a six-point duet to rebuild the lead to 23-16. Chew accounted for three points on kills, two of which were set up by Young. Young in turn dealt a pair of aces and picked up her own setter dump kill with an assist from Chew.
- Salisbury spotted the Saints one more point before finishing the job on a Eustace kill and Chew ace, putting the set in the match in the books, 25-17.
SALISBURY GAME NOTES
- Amanda Chew registered her sixth double-double of the year and 32nd overall with a team-high 14 kills (.282) and 11 digs.
- Gwen Eustace clocked in the finest match of her brief Sea Gull tenure, landing 11 kills against one error on 24 swings, good for a .417 hitting percentage. Eustace also contributed four block assists.
- Jenna Feinauer powered nine kills (.350) and four blocks (one solo), while Natalie Uibel chipped in seven kills with 13 digs.
- Brooke Young complimented a season-high 28 assists with six digs, four service aces and two kills.
- Grace Rail chased down a team-high 24 digs to go along with four assists and four aces.
- The Sea Gulls swung .182 for the match, landing 51 kills against 22 errors.
- Salisbury dealt a season-high 15 aces, including four each from Rail and Young and a two each from Chew, Eustace and Uibel.
MARYMOUNT GAME NOTES
- Elissa Munsterman led the Saints with 12 kills, nine digs and four blocks (two solo).
- Mya Bowers landed seven kills, while Anna Anderson and Myia Jeter each landed six.
- Sydney Sands set up 17 kills, and Alexis Franklin contributed 12 assists and 13 digs.
- Natalie Garbalosa paced the MU back line with 22 digs.
- Marymount notched 37 kills against 22 errors for a .114 hitting percentage.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. CATHOLIC
- The Cardinals came out firing in the first set, grabbing the first four points and bullying their way to a 8-3 lead on a Brittany Connaster ace.
- Salisbury circled the wagons and eventually closed the gap, with Angelina Casserly's kill bringing SU within 17-15. CUA didn't let the lead shrink any further, though, muscling their way to a 25-18 victory. Connaster blasted three kills in a row to put the set on ice.
- Down 11-9 midway through the second set, the Sea Gulls kicked it into high gear with a 10-2 run. Natalie Uibel blasted a pair of kills and an ace as SU built its lead to 19-13.
- CUA answered and got back within 22-21, but back-to-back Uibel kills and a block from Uibel and Jenna Feinauer salted it away for the Sea Gulls, 25-21, to even the match.
- The teams traded blows to open the third set, but Salisbury used an 8-1 run to flip a 9-8 hole into a 16-10 lead. Gwen Eustace proved the star of the run with a pair of kills and a block assist.
- The Sea Gulls kept CUA at an arm's length for the rest of the fixture, building their lead as high as eight when Delaney Madsen landed a kill and an ace to make it 24-16. The Cardinals netted three straight but Brooke Young finished off the set, 25-19, with a kill.
- The fourth set began similar to the third with each team landing early blows. With SU up 11-10, Catholic netted six points in a row and 12 of the next 14 to go up 22-13.
- Salisbury made a 5-0 push to get back within 22-18, but it was too little, too late, as the Cardinals wrapped up the fourth at 25-20, with Gaby Hernandez-Ferraiuoli's ace forcing a decisive fifth set.
- The teams traded the first four points of the fifth set before SU got kills from Amanda Chew and Madsen to go up 6-4, at which point CUA rattled off three in a row and took a 7-6 lead on a Halie Murphy kill.
- From there Salisbury answered with three straight of its own on two errors and a Casserly kill to surge ahead 9-7. Catholic soon after tied it at 10-10, but another error and Chew kill brought SU to the doorstep of victory at 12-10.
- The Cardinals suddenly found their groove and notched four of the next five, using a Connaster service ace to reach match point at 14-13. Connaster's next offering went into the net, though, and SU took back serve in a 14-14 tie.
- Grace Rail set up Chew for a kill to give the Sea Gulls their own match point, and Young sealed the deal with an ace, booking the dramatic final set at 16-14.
SALISBURY GAME NOTES
- Amanda Chew hustled her way to her second double-double of the day with a team-high 19 kills (.348) and 17 digs. Chew now has seven double-doubles this season and 33 in her Sea Gull career.
- Natalie Uibel clocked in eight kills with 11 digs, while Angelina Casserly landed seven kills and Gwen Eustace and Delaney Madsen each chipped in five.
- Eustace also assisted on five blocked shots and Madsen led the team with four service aces.
- Jenna Feinauer booked four kills and rose up for six block assists.
- Blair Pausic registered her own double-double with a team-high 23 assists and 12 digs. Pausic now has six career double-doubles, half of which have come this season.
- Brooke Young contributed 15 assists, plus seven digs and three aces.
- Grace Rail recorded a team-high 20 digs on the back line, giving her six 20-kill efforts in her first 12 matches of the year.
- Salisbury powered 52 kills against 23 errors (.167). The Sea Gulls swung .316 with eight kills in the crucial fifth set.
- SU has now won five in a row and improves to 3-0 in five-set matches this season.
CATHOLIC GAME NOTES
- Brittany Connaster paced the Cardinals with 17 kills, five digs, three block assists and two service aces.
- Halie Murphy landed 12 kills, while Olivia Blondin notched a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs.
- Sydney Cheppard set up 29 kills with 19 digs, while Kelsey Miller and Gaby Hernandez-Ferraiuoli contribute 11 and 10 assists, respectively.
- Hernandez-Ferraiuoli led the CUA back line with 27 digs, the third Cardinal to record a double-double in the match.
- Catholic recorded 57 kills against 30 errors (.151).
UP NEXT
- The Sea Gulls wrap up play at the Worthington Classic with two more matches on Saturday.
- SU opens the day against DeSales at 10 a.m., followed by a final matchup at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
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.