HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Salisbury University volleyball team made it an even dozen for their longest winning streak in a dozen years, dispatching the Stevens Ducks 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-19) and the William Paterson Pioneers 3-1 (25-19, 25-27, 25-18, 25-20) on Saturday afternoon at Canavan Arena.
 
The Sea Gulls' 12-game flourish and 19-2 start count for their longest winning streak and best 21-game mark since the 2012 season. That year SU won 20 straight games as part of a 24-1 start en route to a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals, the farthest the team has ever advanced in the national tournament.
 
MATCH ONE
Up 9-7 early in the first set, Gwen Eustace landed a strike to spark a 16-5 set-ending run. SU managed six in a row during the onslaught and landed the final three points, with Julie Altieri feeding Eustace for the kill that put it away at 25-12.
 
The second set proved more evenly matched as each team went on several runs. Down 17-15, Salisbury netted the next five in a row, three of which came on Jackie Mitchell kills, to go in front 20-17. The Ducks answered with five of the next six to go back up 22-21, but a kill from Kiley McTaggart and two from Natalie Uibel got it to set point at 24-24. After one more Stevens point, McTaggart powered one to the floor to ice it at 25-23.
 
The Sea Gulls again came alive early in the third set, erasing a 5-2 deficit with six straight to swing in front 8-5. The Ducks settled down and the teams danced evenly through the rest of the fixture, then with SU up 18-17 the Sea Gulls managed four straight to push the margin to 22-17. After trading blows for the next few points, a Stevens error and Uibel strike booked the sweep for Salisbury, 25-19.
 
Game Notes

• Gwen Eustace narrowly missed a double-double on kills and blocks, powering down 10 kills with just one error (.474) while rising up for nine stuffs (two solo).
• Jackie Mitchell landed nine kills, while Kiley McTaggart swung for eight.
• Julie Altieri set up 32 assists with six digs and five blocks.
• Grace Rail led the back line with 13 digs. Prudence Marco dug out 11 attacks, while Natalie Uibel added 10.
• The Sea Gulls swung .296 as a team to put up 39 kills while holding Stevens to a .058 attack percentage.
• Salisbury rose up for a season-high 16 blocks. Emma Quandt factored in on seven rejections (one solo).

 
MATCH TWO
The Sea Gulls notched the first five points of the first set before the Pioneers steadied up and cut it to 9-8. The teams jousted evenly the rest of the way until SU led 22-19 and used kills from Kiley McTaggart and Gwen Eustace and a Grace Rail service ace to salt it away, 25-19.
 
Up 7-6 in the second set, Salisbury saw WPU string together four straight to go in front 10-7 before punching back with the next five to retake a 12-10 advantage, setting up a back-and-forth fixture. Tied 22-22 later, McTaggart landed back-to-back kills to get it to set point, but the Pioneers rallied to square it at 24-24 and fought off one more set point before claiming the next three. Abigail Hayth's ace put WPU on the board in the set column with a 27-25 win.
 
The Sea Gulls bounced back with a quality third set, going on an early 7-1 run to take a 9-3 lead. WPU got as close as 14-12 but SU punched back with five of the next six to go up 19-13. The Pioneers never got closer than five the rest of the way, and Julie Altieri struck for a kill to finish the job, 25-18.
 
Salisbury strung together eight straight in the opening portion of the fourth set to seize control at 9-3. The Pioneers eventually regrouped and pulled within two at 18-16 and 19-17, but Natalie Uibel and Jackie Mitchell pounded back-to-back kills and Uibel dealt an ace to make it 22-17. From there the Sea Gulls danced across the finish line, with Altieri sticking an ace to clinch the match at 25-20.
 
Game Notes

• Gwen Eustace matched a career high with 16 kills, swinging .462 for the match. Eustace also notched six digs and racked up four block assists.
• Kiley McTaggart put up just-as-strong numbers at the net, blasting 15 kills (.433).
• Jackie Mitchell and Natalie Uibel posted identical lines of seven kills and 12 digs.
• Julie Altieri covered every corner of the floor for her 11th double-double, posting 44 assists and 13 digs, plus four kills.
• Grace Rail chased down 21 digs and also notched four assists and four service aces. Rail's 1,544 career digs slot her just 15 back of Abbey Petrecca '09 (1,559) for seventh in SU history.
• Prudence Marco picked up 14 digs on the back line.
• The Sea Gulls swung .194 for the match for 55 kills.
• Salisbury dealt 12 aces, led by four each from Rail and Uibel.

 
The Sea Gulls will return home for their final regular season home contests in a tri-match on Saturday. Salisbury will battle Messiah at 12 p.m. and Virginia Wesleyan at 4 p.m., with those two teams playing each other at 2 p.m.
 
Before the Messiah match at 12 p.m. the Sea Gulls will hold Senior Day festivities to celebrate its five graduating seniors: Jackie Mitchell, Kayla Pedersen, Emma Quandt, Grace Rail, and Natalie Uibel.
 

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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 23 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, 199 conference championships, and 50 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.