YORK, Pa. – The 23rd-ranked Salisbury University volleyball team extended its season-long winning streak to nine matches by taking down the Arcadia Knights, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-12), and the York College Spartans, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-17), on Saturday afternoon at Charles Wolf Gymnasium.
 
MATCH ONE
The Sea Gulls grabbed the first five points of the opening set before conceding the next four. Up 7-5 later, Amanda Meschi slammed down a kill to spark another five-point swing, and AU wouldn't get as close as three until the 22-19 mark, at which point SU netted the final three points, clinching the fixture 25-19 on a service ace by Elizabeth Villegas.
 
Arcadia got back into it in set two, building a late 21-16 lead and holding on as Salisbury cut the deficit to 24-23 on a kill and ace from Sidney Morgan. Devon Young's kill gave the Knights the set at 25-23.
 
Down 15-10 midway through the third set, the Sea Gulls rallied again with Morgan on the serve; Morgan herself dealt an ace to knot it up at 15-15. The frame seesawed the rest of the way, but after AU fought off one set point to make it 24-24, a service error and attack error finished the job for the maroon and gold, 26-24.
 
Salisbury cashed in on its momentum with a dominant set four. After notching five of the first six points, the Gulls would string together four or more points on three separate occasions the rest of the way, including a run of five consecutive kills by Gwen Eustace to get it to match point at 24-10. Eustace finished the job moments later, 25-12, on another feed from Julie Altieri.
 
Game Notes

• Gwen Eustace erupted for 16 kills, swinging at a .696 clip and committing no errors over 23 attacks. Ten of Eustace's kills came in the fourth set; she was responsible for the Sea Gulls' final seven points of the match.
• Eustace also managed two blocks (one solo) to eclipse 100 stuffs for the third consecutive season.
• Amanda Meschi totaled 13 kills with six digs.
• Sidney Morgan chimed in 10 kills (.571) and nine digs, both career highs, as well as two service aces.
• Sophia Tapia went for eight kills and a pair of solo blocks, while Sadie Wilkinson chipped in five kills.
• Julie Altieri dished out 28 assists, while Jasmine Nelson contributed 18 of her own.
• Elizabeth Villegas and Annabelle Weis shared the team lead in digs with Morgan, running down nine apiece.
• Salisbury hit .303 as a team while holding the Knights to a .074 rate.

 
MATCH TWO
The Sea Gulls burst out of the gate with an 8-1 opening run and later built on a 12-6 margin with seven in a row, topped off by a Sophia Blaufuss service ace to make it 18-6. YCP would close the gap to 19-13 with seven of the next eight, but it was too little, too late and SU finished off the first set 25-16 on a Spartan attack error.
 
The two sides traded blows early in the second set, but with York ahead 12-11 a setter error opened the door on a 7-0 Salisbury flourish, capped by a stuff from Gwen Eustace and Sidney Morgan to make it 18-12. The Spartans again put it together late but ran out of time to catch the Gulls, delivering the visitors a 25-21 victory on a bad set.
 
Salisbury again got the engine humming to the tune of two five-point strings in set three. The first one – bookended by Alyssa DeWaal kills – put the Sea Gulls ahead for good at 10-6. The second put SU on the brink of a sweep, with a Sophia Tapia block setting up match point at 24-15. A service error moments later booked it for the visitors, 25-17.
 
Game Notes

• Gwen Eustace turned in a nearly-perfect game swinging at the net, landing 12 kills with no errors on 14 attacks for an .857 hitting percentage. With 28 kills and no errors (.757) over 37 swings the tri-match, Eustace boosted her Division III-leading attack rate to .497.
• Eustace established a new career high with 337 kills so far this season, and her 1,052 career kills are 12 shy of Lindsay Lawson '07 (1,064) for 12th in program history. With two block assists in the game (397 career), she is three away from becoming the third Sea Gull to ever record 400 blocks.
• Amanda Meschi powered nine kills, while Alyssa DeWaal added seven.
• Sidney Morgan went for six kills and four service aces, while Sophia Tapia went for six kills and two aces.
• Julie Altieri registered 36 assists with four digs.
• Elizabeth Villegas chased down 12 digs, while Sophia Blaufuss contributed nine.
• The Sea Gulls swung .355 as a team, limiting YCP to a .167 clip.
• SU's nine-match winning streak continues a 19-2 heater the Gulls began on Sept. 13.

 
Salisbury returns home for its final regular season matches inside the Maggs Physical Activities Center on Saturday. The Sea Gulls will battle Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) rival Mary Washington at 1 p.m., followed by a key showdown with No. 13 Lynchburg at 5 p.m. Before the first match, SU will honor its two graduating seniors, Alyssa DeWaal and Gwen Eustace.
 

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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 affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). 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 205 conference championships, and have produced 53 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.