CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The 17th-ranked Salisbury University volleyball team opened the 2025 NCAA Tournament with what is sure to be one of the matches of the tournament, outlasting the Colorado College Tigers, 3-2 (25-22, 16-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-9), on Thursday afternoon at Rockwell Cage on the campus of MIT.
With the win, the Sea Gulls will advance to battle 15th-ranked Trinity (Texas) in the NCAA second round on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The Sea Gulls kept the Tigers at an arm's length throughout the first set, using an early 9-3 run to build a 12-5 lead. SU teed up set point at 24-17 before CC answered with five in a row, but
Amanda Meschi salted it away with a kill, 25-22.
CC answered with a strong set two, answering every Salisbury run with a run of its own. Up 12-11, the Tigers locked in for a 7-2 push to make it 19-13 and never looked back, using a pair of Camden Goodman aces and an attack error to draw even in the match, 25-16.
The teams locked horns through the bulk of the third set before CC gained separation, flipping a 15-13 hole to an 18-15 cushion and putting the Sea Gulls away before they could catch up. Brooke Brilliant's service ace moved the Tigers to within one set of advancing, 25-19.
Undaunted, the Sea Gulls came storming back in the fourth set, opening on a 14-5 string that featured two kills each from Meschi,
Kiley McTaggart,
Gwen Eustace, and
Alyssa DeWaal. The two sides traded blows the rest of the way, but the margin was too great for CC to truly threaten, and McTaggart's strike ensured the match would go the distance, 25-19.
SU notched the first three points of set five and built a 7-2 lead thanks in part to back-to-back tandem blocks from Eustace and
Julie Altieri. The Tigers had one last gasp and cut the deficit to 8-6, but a kill from Altieri opened up a five-point swing that all but sealed the deal. One last block from McTaggart and
Sophia Tapia clinched the match, 15-9, and moved the Sea Gulls into the round of 32.
GAME NOTES
- Gwen Eustace delivered one of the most unstoppable performances in Sea Gull volleyball history, blasting a career-high 25 kills at a .553 swing rate. Her banner day vaulted her into ninth in career kills at SU; next up is former teammate Amanda Chew '22 at 1,177 strikes.
- Eustace became the first SU volleyball player to ever take the floor in an NCAA Tournament match in four consecutive seasons.
- Alyssa DeWaal matched her own career high with 12 kills to go along with six digs.
- Amanda Meschi landed 11 kills, while Kiley McTaggart and Sophia Tapia added five each.
- Julie Altieri locked in at quarterback to the tune of 46 assists and 16 digs, good for her 17th double-double of the season (49 career). Altieri also contributed three kills and three block assists. With 1,050 assists, Altieri surpassed her career high and moved into ninth in SU history in single-season helpers.
- Elizabeth Villegas ran down 23 kills and dished out eight assists. Prudence Marco and Sophia Blaufuss combined for 13 digs.
- Tapia proved impenetrable at the tape, registering 11 blocks (two solo) to tie Kim Sheedy (11/7/02 vs. York) for most in a match in program history. Her 131 stuffs this year are now fifth-most in single-season SU lore.
- Salisbury hit .244 as a team for the match, including an impressive .412 in the match-saving fourth set. SU held CC to a .154 clip and kept the Tigers underwater at -0.158 in set five.
- The Sea Gulls won the overall blocking battle 16-5, tying their season high in stuffs.
- SU's 29 wins are the most single-season dubs since the program won 29 in 2013. One more win would give the Sea Gulls their first 30-win campaign since the 2012 squad that went 37-4 and advanced to the national quarterfinals.
The Sea Gulls will square off with Trinity in the regional semifinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m. inside Rockwell Cage. Also nicknamed the Tigers, TU swept Manhattanville in its opening-round matchup on Thursday afternoon. A win would propel Salisbury into the regional finals for just the third time in program history.
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.
