CHESTER, Pa. – The Salisbury University volleyball team opened up the final weekend of the regular season with a return to its winning ways, sweeping the Widener Pride 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-15) on Friday evening at the Schwartz Athletic Center.
Tied 16-16 late in the first set,
Sophia Tapia and
Kiley McTaggart combined to land three kills in a row to give the Sea Gulls a 19-16 cushion. Up 21-19 later on, McTaggart struck again and
Grace Rail dealt a service ace to get it to 23-19. The Pride answered with the next three to cut it to one, but a service error and a solo block from
Emma Quandt salted it away for SU, 25-22.
Salisbury opened up a 6-3 lead early in the second set, but Widener regrouped and the two sides danced in time toward the finish line. With things knotted up at 22-22,
Julie Altieri fed
Gwen Eustace for a kill, then McTaggart and Quandt teamed up for a block to push it to set point. The Pride answered with the next point, but a blast from McTaggart finished the job for the Sea Gulls, 25-23.
Set three was all SU from the get-go as the Sea Gulls opened up leads of 5-1 and 10-2.
Natalie Uibel powered down three kills during the opening run and Altieri factored in on seven of the points via assist, kill, and ace. Salisbury later expanded its 14-7 margin to 19-7 and steamrolled to match point, with the Altieri-to-Quandt connection putting things on ice for good, 25-15.
GAME NOTES
- Natalie Uibel notched her third double-double of the year (eighth career), matching her season high with 13 kills to go along with 11 digs.
- Kiley McTaggart posted a near-perfect attack line of 13 kills against one error, good for a .444 swing percentage.
- Emma Quandt hammered down 10 kills against no errors, good for a .500 attack rate. Quandt also put the stoppers up for four blocks (one solo).
- Julie Altieri served up 42 assists with seven digs and four kills.
- Prudence Marco played the libero position and set a career high with 20 digs, while Grace Rail posted 13 digs.
- The Sea Gulls hit .339 as a team – their second-best attack percentage on the year – to land 50 kills against just eight errors. It marks the first time this season SU has recorded 50-plus kills with single-digit errors.
- With its 22nd victory of the year, Salisbury has surpassed its win total from each of the past two seasons and secured its most wins in a campaign since going 24-8 in 2015.
The Sea Gulls will wrap up the regular season with one final tri-match at Neumann on Saturday. SU will battle Stockton at 12 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. showdown against hosts Neumann.
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, 200 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.
