SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University volleyball team managed a Senior Day split in its final home tri-match of the year, falling to the 10th-ranked New York University Violets 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18) and bouncing back to sweep the Christopher Newport Captains 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-16) on Saturday afternoon at Maggs Physical Activities Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. NYU

• The Violets opened a 9-4 advantage against Salisbury before the Sea Gulls swiped seven of the next nine points to tie the opening set at 11-11. A trio of kills from Jackie Mitchell punctuated the run.
• NYU took the blow and fired back, taking 12 of the next 16 points to grow an eight-point lead, 23-15. The Sea Gulls put together a four-point run, but the Violets hung on for a 25-20 set win.
• The visitors controlled the tempo in the second set, establishing a 13-7 lead through 20 points. Salisbury took the next three points and got within one at 17-16.
• The Violets clamped down, taking five of the final seven to clinch the second set at 25-16.
• NYU continued their trend of fast starts, sprinting to an 11-3 lead to open the final frame. The sides sparred in the ensuing minutes, but the Violets eventually claimed five of six to balloon the lead to nine, 18-9.
• Salisbury received kills from Kiley McTaggart and Emma Quandt down the stretch, but it was ultimately NYU who claimed the third set, 25-18.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Kiley McTaggart led the Sea Gulls with 11 kills on a team-best .286 hitting clip.
• Jackie Mitchell ranked second on the squad in both digs (15) and kills (six) in the loss.
• Julie Altieri secured her ninth double-double of the year, dishing out 18 assists with 11 digs.
• Grace Rail led the squad with 18 digs. She also tallied five assists in the match.
• Kayla Pedersen punched a pair of service aces against the Violets.
• Salisbury stacked 32 kills against 27 errors in the match.

NYU GAME NOTES

• Haley Holz led the Violets with 11 kills in the affair.
• Ava Launsbach finished with a game-high 18 assists.
• Lindsay Hirano dove for 18 digs in the win.
• NYU punched a .158 for the match, headlined by a .303 clip in the final set.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. CNU

• After building an early 7-5 lead in the first set, the Sea Gulls rattled off four in a row on kills by Natalie Uibel and Julie Altieri and a pair of aces from Gwen Eustace to go up 11-5.
• After the Captains stabilized and kept it within 14-10, SU went on a seven-point tear, capped by a Jackie Mitchell kill, to make it 21-10. The Sea Gulls finished it off soon after as Eustace's kill put away the first set, 25-14.
• CNU raced out to a 6-2 advantage to begin the second set and eventually led 10-6. Salisbury then took the lead with five straight to go up 11-10, at which point the teams danced together through the late stages of the fixture.
• Trailing 21-19, SU went on another 5-0 run, starting with a Emma Quandt block and featuring a pair of Kiley McTaggart kills. After a service error on the first set point, CNU committed its own bad serve to give the Sea Gulls a 25-22 set victory.
• In the third set, Salisbury took serve leading 9-8 and strung together six in a row to boost the margin to 15-8. Leading 20-15 later in the frame, Salisbury moved to match point with four straight points and eventually finished off a 25-16 win for the sweep on a Captain service error.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jackie Mitchell led a balanced Sea Gull attack with eight kills, plus five digs.
• Gwen Eustace swung .667 for the match on the way to seven kills, as well as three block assists and two service aces.
• Kiley McTaggart landed seven kills of her own, while Natalie Uibel added six kills, 12 digs, and two aces.
• Julie Altieri served up a team-high 18 assists, plus four digs and two kills. Brooke Young added seven assists of her own.
• Grace Rail chased down 18 digs to lead the SU back line.
• Salisbury hit .212 as a team with 34 kills against 13 errors.
• The Sea Gulls held CNU to a -.029 team hitting percentage, just the second time this season SU has forced a team into a negative swing rate.
• SU has now won three straight matches against Christopher Newport. The Sea Gulls went 5-0 against Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) opponents this season.
• Before the match, the Salisbury honored its two graduating seniors – setters Ella Skye Franks and Brooke Young – before their final regular season home contest.

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT GAME NOTES

• Samantha Dorn led the Captains with seven kills, while Kyla McIntyre added six.
• Julia Gleason registered 19 assists.
• Megan James and Noelle Starr each chased down 11 digs.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will wrap up the regular season next Saturday with a tri-match at Catholic in Washington, D.C.
• SU will face Ferrum at 12 p.m. and play its regular season finale against hosts Catholic at 2:30 p.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 and men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 196 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.

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