ASHLAND, Va. – The Salisbury University volleyball team saw its season-opening seven-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans, falling 3-1 (25-27, 25-18, 25-11, 25-19) on the first day of the Randolph-Macon Tournament on Friday evening at Crenshaw Gymnasium.
Tied 4-4 early in the first set, the Tartans went on a 7-1 run to establish control at 11-5. Facing a 13-7 hole moments later, the Sea Gulls stormed back with nine in a row.
Gwen Eustace played a starring role during the advance with two kills and two blocks, and a
Sophia Blaufuss service ace capped the push to put SU up 16-13.
CMU regrouped from there and the teams marched in lockstep toward the end of the set.
Prudence Marco dealt an ace that gave SU set point at 25-24, then after the Tartans fought off one set point the Sea Gulls put the fixture away 27-25 on a service error and another ace from Blaufuss.
The second set featured more runs by both sides, with Salisbury coming back from 16-12 down to tie it at 16-16. The teams traded another point each to make it 17-17, at which point Carnegie Mellon pressed the foot on the gas, closing the set with eight of the final nine points and clinching a 25-18 victory as Neha Tummala fed Elizabeth Schlemmer for the clinching kill.
The Tartans controlled the third set from the downbeat, opening up early leads of 6-2, 11-3, and 14-4. SU never got closer than eight the rest of the way, and Julianna McFarland stuffed a final Sea Gull attempt at the net to salt away the set 25-11.
CMU came alive early in the fourth set as well, using a 7-0 run to flip a 3-1 hole into an 8-3 advantage. Salisbury regrouped and got as close as three points on four occasions, including at 22-19 on a
Kiley McTaggart kill. The Tartans finished it off from there, though, with the final three points, and Abby Chen's ace wrapped things up at 25-19.
GAME NOTES
- Gwen Eustace led the Sea Gulls at the net with 11 kills and five blocks (two solo).
- Kiley McTaggart, Emma Quandt, and Natalie Uibel each registered seven kills.
- Julie Altieri narrowly missed a double-double with 28 assists and nine digs, plus four kills.
- Grace Rail chased down a team-high 20 digs, while Uibel notched 18 digs.
- The Sea Gulls hit just .087 as a team for the match with 40 kills and 26 errors.
The Sea Gulls will look to rebound on the second and final day of the Randolph-Macon Tournament on Saturday. SU is slated for bouts with Washington & Lee at 12:30 p.m. and hosts R-MC 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.
