SALISBURY, Md. – The 16th-ranked Salisbury University volleyball team
placed a league-leading five players on the 2025 All-Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) teams, as revealed by the league office on Thursday afternoon. Middle blocker
Gwen Eustace, setter
Julie Altieri, and right-side hitter
Kiley McTaggart were each named to the All-C2C First Team, while middle blocker
Sophia Tapia and defensive specialist
Elizabeth Villegas made the All-C2C Second Team. In addition, head coach
Kendall Jacobsen spearheaded the C2C Coaching Staff of the Year.
Beginning her Sea Gull tenure with just over five weeks until the first match, Jacobsen has overseen tremendous success in her first year at the helm and becomes the first SU boss to win conference Coach of the Year since Hall-of-Famer
Margie Knight in 2012. Salisbury went 27-5 in the regular season, good for five more wins than anyone else in the league and the program's most in one season since going 29-6 in 2013.
Flanked by first-year assistant
Cory Fischer, plus athletic trainer
Matt Lipka and strength & conditioning coach
Matt Schuler, Jacobsen's Sea Gulls enter postseason play riding a 12-match winning streak and boasting top-25 credentials in both the
NCAA Power Index (16th) and
American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) rankings (24th).
Eustace (Sr. – Olney, Md.) becomes a three-time First-Team All-C2C honoree as the league's most indisputably dominant frontline player of the year. She leads all three levels of the NCAA with a .509 hitting percentage – a full 124 points higher than anyone else in the conference – and registered the league's most kills (383) and total blocks (117). Eustace also ranks second in the C2C in blocks per set (1.01) and kills per set (3.30) and was named C2C Offensive Player of the Week a league-leading five times.
Altieri (Jr. – Hillsborough, N.C.) makes it three All-C2C selections in three seasons, the past two on the First Team, after continuing her reign as the league's top setter. She leads the conference in assists (962) and assists per set (9.34) while quarterbacking Salisbury to the conference's best team hitting percentage (.261) and three of its top 10 individual swing rates. Altieri posted topline numbers all around the court, slotting fourth in the league in service aces (45), sixth in digs (278), ninth in aces per set (0.43), and 10th in digs per set (2.70).
McTaggart (Jr. – North Wales, Pa.) is also a three-time All-C2C pick and a two-time First-Teamer after adding new elements to her game in 2025. Building on her reputation as one of the league's top frontliners, she posted top-10 numbers in kills (346), kills per set (3.15), hitting percentage (.243), blocks (76), and blocks per set (0.69). McTaggart, a two-time C2C Offensive Player of the Week, also set new career highs from the back with 185 digs (1.68 D/S) and 42 aces (0.38 SA/S).
Tapia (So. – Tenefly, N.J.) blossomed into a true force at the net in her second year as a Sea Gull. She ranks seventh nationally and second in the C2C with 115 blocks while slotting third in the conference in blocks per set (0.98), third in hitting percentage (.312), and 10th in kills (179). Tapia earned C2C Defensive Player of the Week honors once and posted five-plus blocks in a match nine teams.
Villegas (Jr. – Charles Town, W.Va.) shored up the SU backline in her first season with the program after transferring in from Millersville. Despite only ascending into the libero role halfway through the year, she ranks second in the C2C in total digs (354), as well as seventh in digs per set (3.03). Villegas, whose 38 aces are third on the team, has gone for double-digit digs in 13 of the last 14 matches and earned one C2C Defensive Player of the Week nod.
The Sea Gulls earned the top seed in this weekend's C2C Tournament and head to Santa Cruz, Calif., looking to win their second conference title in three seasons and punch their ticket to a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. No. 1 Salisbury will battle either No. 4 Mary Washington or No. 5 Regent in the semifinal round on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Pacific), with the winner advancing to face either No. 2 Christopher Newport or No. 3 UC Santa Cruz in the championship on Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern (3 p.m. Pacific).
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 206 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.
