CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Salisbury University volleyball team won its seventh consecutive match to start the season, making quick work of the Washington College Shorewomen, 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-13), on Tuesday evening at Penny J. Fall Gym.
The teams jousted evenly through the initial portion of the first set, but the Sea Gulls built on an 11-10 lead with a 6-1 run to go up 17-11. WAC settled down and kept pace until the 21-18 mark when the Sea Gulls closed with four of the final five points.
Jackie Mitchell and
Julie Altieri landed back-to-back kills to salt it away for SU, 25-19.
Salisbury rolled the momentum into the second set, scoring six of the first seven and going up by double digits when Altieri set up Mitchell for a kill to make it 12-2. The Sea Gulls led by as many as 13 points in the frame, and
Prudence Marco fed Altieri for another set-clincher to win it at 25-14.
The Shorewomen netted two of the first three in set three but SU turned it on from there, using a 13-4 surge to take a 14-6 lead as
Natalie Uibel pounced for a kill. Salisbury put it in cruise control from there, never trailing by fewer than six the rest of the way.
Kayla Pedersen capped a 7-1 flourish with a match-closing service ace to put it in the books for the visitors, 25-13.
GAME NOTES
- Jackie Mitchell swung an impressive .611 for the match, registering a team-high 11 kills with no errors in just two sets.
- Gwen Eustace powered seven kills, while Kiley McTaggart landed six.
- Four other Sea Gulls (Julie Altieri, Sophia Tapia, Natalie Uibel, Alyssa DeWaal) recorded at least three kills in the match.
- Altieri notched 19 assists, while Megan Currie assisted on 10 kills.
- Grace Rail paced the SU back line with 12 digs, and Sophia Blaufuss added 10.
- Salisbury hit .297 as a team for the match and held WAC to a .024 attack percentage.
- SU dominated at the tape to the tune of a 10-1 advantage in blocks. Tapia led the way with five stuffs (one solo).
- The Sea Gulls' seven-match winning streak marks their best start since going 8-0 to open the 2019 campaign and their longest total winning streak since 2022.
Salisbury will head to Ashland, Va. for a weekend tournament at Randolph-Macon on Friday and Saturday. The Sea Gulls open with a bout against Carnegie Mellon on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by Saturday fixtures against Washington & Lee at 12:30 p.m. and hosts Randolph-Macon 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 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.
