SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University volleyball team moved to 3-0 for the season on Saturday at Maggs Physical Activities Center, sweeping its afternoon contest against the Drew Rangers (25-15, 25-22, 25-14) before taking down the Stevenson Mustangs in a five-set thriller (25-23, 16-25, 25-27, 27-25, 15-11) in the nightcap to win the 2023 Margie Knight Classic.

HOW IT HAPPENED VS. DREW

• After spotting the Rangers the first three points of the opening set, the Sea Gulls clapped back, scoring seven of the next eight to take a 7-4 lead. Three points later, the hosts unloaded six consecutive scores to go ahead 14-6.
• The lead rose to 19-9 before the sides traded three-point runs, putting Salisbury in front 22-12. A timely turnaway at the net by Jackie Mitchell and Delaney Madsen and a kill from Emma Quandt helped the Sea Gulls take the first set, 25-15.
• Both sides turned the energy up a notch in the second set. Trailing 13-12, Kiley McTaggart collected a pair of kills and a block assist to help Salisbury score five straight points and seven out of eight to take a 19-14 lead.
• The sides jostled for position late in the set. Ahead 23-22, Salisbury capitalized on a kill from Gwen Eustace and a service ace from Natalie Uibel to put the second frame away, 25-22.
• The Rangers jumped ahead 5-1 in the third set before a robust Sea Gull stretch that saw the hosts take 10 of the next 12 points, giving Salisbury an 11-7 lead. The stretch included a pair of service aces from Julie Altieri and kills from Mitchell and Quandt.
• Salisbury kept Drew at arm's length down the stretch in the set. Leading 18-13, the Sea Gulls pulled away with a five-point run to set up the eventual 25-14 match-clinching victory.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Kiley McTaggart collected a team-high eight kills and added five block assists in the affair.
• Jackie Mitchell totaled seven kills while adding 10 digs in the match.
• Emma Quandt added six kills and a pair of digs, swinging .333 for the match.
• Natalie Uibel collected four kills with no errors, swinging a crisp .364 with a team-high 16 digs as well.
• Delaney Madsen converted six kills without an error, good for a .353 swing percentage, and tallied nine blocks (three solo).
• Brooke Young dished out 20 assists and added six digs from the setter position.
• Julie Altieri was not far behind, distributing 12 assists with a pair of service aces and five digs. Altieri also collected a kill in the win.
• Grace Rail tacked on 15 digs while picking up four assists and a pair of service aces.
• The Sea Gulls swung .252 in the contest. Six different players topped the .200 clip on 10-or-more attempts.

DREW GAME NOTES

• Teeya Desgoutte finished with a team-best 10 kills. She added five digs, a service ace and a block assist as well.
• Marissa Guajardo tallied eight kills, three digs, two block assists and a service ace.
• Abigail Pereira, Emily Shirk and Alyssa Baron each had multi-kill days for the Rangers. Shirk led DU with 14 digs, while Vasquez picked up 12.
• Genevieve Sarinelli concluded the afternoon with 12 digs and a service ace.
• The Rangers swung at a .017 clip on the day, with their best attack coming in the second set (.125).

HOW IT HAPPENED VS. STEVENSON

• The battle of SUs was a stiff one to open the first set. After a trade-off of the first seven points, Stevenson claimed six straight to lead 9-4. Salisbury narrowed the margin to 12-9, but the Mustangs fought off the rally and grew the lead to six, 19-13.
• Natalie Uibel then came to life for Salisbury, collecting consecutive kills to jumpstart a Sea Gull run that saw the hosts score seven of nine. Salisbury picked up five of the final six, finishing the job on consecutive blocks by Delaney Madsen and Jackie Mitchell, to claim the opening set, 25-23.
• The Mustangs stormed the second set, using three separate four-point swings to claim the frame, 25-16.
• Stevenson and Salisbury found themselves locked in a furious fight in the third set. The Sea Gulls led by as many as eight early in the frame, but Stevenson rallied to make it close down the stretch and pull within 23-22.
• A kill from Gwen Eustace set up a potential set point, but Stevenson tacked on two straight to tie the set at 24-24. Eustace struck again to put the Sea Gulls in front, but the Mustangs scored three straight points to take a 2-1 match advantage, salting it away on a Darian Dildy block.
• Neither side wanted to surrender an inch in the fourth set. After a drawn-out back-and-forth and with Stevenson in front 18-15, Salisbury set up a five-point run to go back in front, 20-18.
• The Mustangs then netted six of the next eight to pull ahead 24-22. Facing two match points, the Sea Gulls got a block from Madsen and Kiley McTaggart and a kill from Eustace to draw even. After spotting Stevenson one more, Eustace tagged back-to-back kills and then teamed up with Emma Quandt for another stuff, taking a 27-25 set victory to force a fifth.
• Like the rest of the match, the fifth set was a dogfight. The Sea Gulls jumped in front with a 9-5 lead, one which quickly evaporated as Stevenson rallied to take an 11-10 advantage.
• Undaunted, Salisbury strung together the final five points in a row, with Mitchell landing two kills on the way to delivering the Sea Gulls a 15-11 victory and a Margie Knight Classic championship.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Gwen Eustace came up big once again for the Sea Gulls, finishing the tournament with a 16-kill effort with six block assists as well. Eustace shot a team-high .286 in the victory.
• Jackie Mitchell one-upped Friday's double-double for her second of the season, garnering 15 kills while adding 21 digs.
• Emma Quandt finished in double digits in the kill column, shooting 10 while getting involved in four blocks.
• Kiley McTaggart contributed eight kills in the winning effort.
• Natalie Uibel added six kills and 17 digs in the team's second match of the day.
• Brooke Young led the squad with 28 assists and contributed 14 digs as well.
• Julie Altieri passed out 23 dimes and collected 10 digs.
• Grace Rail led the squad with 31 digs in the win, adding a pair of service aces to boot.
• Salisbury hit at a .111 clip against Stevenson, with its most efficient attack coming in the close-out fifth set (.259).
• Eustace was named Margie Knight Classic Tournament MVP after racking up 31 kills (.286) and six blocks over the three matches. Young also made the All-Tournament Team after registering 78 assists in the trio of victories.

STEVENSON GAME NOTES

• Rileigh Kimball led the Mustangs with 18 kills and added 14 digs, five block assists and two service aces.
• Kylie DesLauriers joined Kimball in the double-double club, posting 16 kills and 12 digs.
• Darian Dildy tacked on nine kills, two solo blocks and four block assists.
• Giulia Viglietta collected eight kills and a trio of digs in the loss.
• Makala Thompson led the Mustangs with 25 assists, adding nine digs as well.
• Samantha Simmers tallied 20 dimes and 11 digs for Stevenson.
• Kayla Vaeth posted a game-high 33 digs while adding eight assists.

UP NEXT

• Up next for Salisbury is the Garnet Invitational, hosted by Swarthmore College on Friday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 9.
• The Sea Gulls will face Arcadia at 5 p.m. on Friday before tackling two straight matches against Bowdoin at 4 p.m. and Swarthmore at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.

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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 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, and 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 on social media @SUSeaGulls.