SALISBURY, Md. – In a match that lived up to the billing between the last two Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) champions, the Salisbury University drew the short end against the Christopher Newport Captains, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-17), on Wednesday evening at the Maggs Physical Activities Center.
The match was close from the get-go with the Sea Gulls and Captains exchanging runs throughout a tight set one. With the score tied 18-18, CNU's Fielding Croft landed a kill that led to a four-point string to make it 22-18. SU answered with the next two, but the Captains closed with three of the last four, using an Emmy Carpenedo kill to put it away, 25-21.
Salisbury answered with a hot start in the second set, building an 8-3 lead before the Captains surged back within 11-10.
Sophia Tapia responded with a kill and followed with a service ace to stem the tide and build the margin back to 13-10, and the Sea Gulls maintained a cushion of at least two points the rest of the way. CNU gifted the Gulls seven points on service errors in the frame, including the final point to allow SU to draw even in the match, 25-22.
Set three proved to be another knuckleduster, with the Sea Gulls keeping pace with CNU and trailing 15-13 midway through. Simara Alexander's kill was the first of three straight and five-of-six for the Captains to build the margin to 20-14, but SU responded with five in a row, cutting the hole to 20-19 after a strike by
Sadie Wilkinson. After trading a point each, CNU finally put it on ice with a 4-1 push, including three kills from Alyssa Dozier, the last of which clinched the fixture 25-21.
Both sides strung together early runs in the fourth set, dancing to ties at 1-1, 6-6, and 9-9. From there, the Captains seized control with seven of the next eight to build a 16-10 cushion. SU answered with a 6-1 push to get within 17-16, but CNU punched back with eight of the final nine. Carpenedo's ace finished the job, 25-17, to end SU's six-match winning streak.
GAME NOTES
- Kiley McTaggart paced the Sea Gulls up front with 13 kills, plus nine digs from the back.
- Gwen Eustace hammered down 10 kills (.368) and notched five blocks (two solo). Eustace finished the night with 367 career blocks, surpassing Carley Todd '13 (363) for third-most in SU history.
- Sophia Tapia rose up for seven kills (.308) and seven blocks (three solo), plus a pair of service aces.
- Sadie Wilkinson went for five kills and a career-high seven blocks (three solo).
- Julie Altieri posted 31 assists and 13 digs, good for her 10th double-double of the season (42nd career).
- Elizabeth Villegas shared the team lead with 13 digs to go along with four assists and two aces.
- Sophia Blaufuss chased down 10 digs.
- Salisbury hit .131 as a team for the match, including .300 even in a victorious set two.
- SU posted a season-high 16 blocks on the day, tied for the sixth-most in one match in program history.
The Sea Gulls will return to action on Saturday with two matches as part of a weekend quad at Maggs PAC. SU will open up against C2C foe Regent at 11 a.m. and will close the day against No. 19 Virginia Wesleyan at 5 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), 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.
