SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University volleyball team
landed five players on the All-Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) postseason teams on Thursday. Leading the way was middle blocker
Gwen Eustace, who earned C2C Defensive Player of the Year honors. Joining Eustace on the All-C2C First Team were right-side hitter
Kiley McTaggart and setter
Julie Altieri, while defensive specialist
Grace Rail and middle blocker
Emma Quandt made the All-C2C Second Team.
Eustace (Jr. – Olney, Md.), now a two-time First-Team All-C2C selection after making the top squad in 2023, becomes the fourth Sea Gull in the past five seasons to earn the league's top defensive honor and 11th overall. A brick wall at the net, she leads the conference in blocks per set (1.11) and ranks second in total blocks (103), boasting top-25 national rankings in both categories.
Eustace opened the season with eight blocks (six solo) in a three-set win over Catholic on Aug. 30, and on Nov. 9 against Stockton she set a new career high with 10 stuffs (three solo), tying her for second in program history for blocks in one match. With 281 career blocks she currently sits 10th on the SU leaderboard.
Eustace rounded out her game with offensive dominance, ranking third in the league in hitting percentage (.375, 17th nationally) and kills per set (2.86), as well as fifth in total kills (266). She racked up double-digit strikes on 14 occasions, tying a career high with 16 blasts against William Paterson on Oct. 19, and swung over .400 nine times, including an absurd .813 swing percentage against Neumann on Nov. 9. Eustace was named C2C Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 2 and earned Defensive Player of the Week laurels on Oct. 14.
McTaggart (So. – North Wales, Pa.) ascends to the All-C2C First Team after making the Second Team last year. She ranks second in the league in both kills (290) and kills per set (2.99), plus sixth in hitting percentage (.309), seventh in total blocks (74), and eighth in blocks per set (0.76).
A three-time C2C Offensive Player of the Week during the campaign, McTaggart smashed a career-high 18 kills twice, eclipsed double-digit kills 16 times, and swung better than .400 in 10 matches. Her best performance on the season came on Aug. 31 against Swarthmore when she powered down 18 kills with a season-high six blocks to help the Sea Gulls take a five-set decision.
Altieri (So. – Hillsborough, N.C.) joins McTaggart as a 2023 Second-Teamer elevated to the First Team in 2024. She far and away leads the C2C in assists (925) and assists per set (9.44), slotting in the top-40 nationally in both statistics. A contributor in all facets of the game, Altieri also ranks fourth in service aces (45), seventh in aces per set (0.46), ninth in digs (256), and 12th in digs per set (2.61) while also registering 118 kills (1.20 K/S).
Altieri clocked in with assist-dig double-doubles on 16 occasions, including a season-high 49 assists with 13 digs in a five-set win over Swarthmore on Aug. 31. She also recorded her second career triple-double by posting 39 assists, 11 digs, and 10 kills against Stockton on Nov. 9.
Rail (5th – Seaford, N.Y.) becomes a three-time All-C2C honoree after making the First Team in 2022 and 2023. She ranks second in the conference in digs (462), third in digs per set (4.71), fifth in aces (44), and ninth in aces per set (0.45). Rail captured three C2C Defensive Player of the Week nods, giving her nine for her career, and was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week for Oct. 21-27 after recording 51 digs (7.29 D/S) in victories over Messiah and Virginia Wesleyan.
Quandt (Sr. – Annapolis, Md.) is an All-C2C honoree for the first time in her career after giving the Sea Gulls another sure threat at the tape. She slots fourth in the league in blocks (87) and blocks per set (0.96) and boasts its fifth-best hitting percentage (.320) after notching 156 kills (1.71 K/S). Quandt three times belted a season-high 10 kills and stuffed five-plus attacks in five matches, including a season-high eight blocks (five solo) to beat Gallaudet on Sept. 7.
Thanks in large measure to the contributions of Eustace, McTaggart, Altieri, Rail, and Quandt, Salisbury went 23-5 in the regular season – its most wins in one campaign since 2015 – and is ranked 16th in the most recent NCAA Power Index (NPI).
The Sea Gulls will head to the C2C Tournament in Newport News, Va., seeking to win back-to-back league crowns and make their third straight NCAA Tournament. Top-seeded SU will joust with fourth-seeded Mary Washington in the semifinal round on Friday at 3 p.m., with the winner advancing to play second-seeded Christopher Newport or third-seeded UC Santa Cruz in the championship on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming) and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's 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 won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 201 conference championships, and have produced 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.
