UNION, N.J. – The Salisbury University volleyball team earned a split in its third and fourth matches of the Kean Invitational, dropping a 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23) decision to the hosting Kean Cougars before rebounding to coast through the Hunter Hawks 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-12) on Saturday afternoon at Harwood Arena.
MATCH ONE
The Cougars opened up a 10-4 lead early in the first set, but the Sea Gulls countered with four in a row, cutting the deficit to 10-8 on an ace from
Prudence Marco. SU kept the pace through the fixture, but at the 21-19 mark Kean netted three in a row to get to set point. Cayley Elena Morrison finished it off with a kill to clinch it for the home side, 25-21.
The two sides traded runs through a wild second set. Down 13-12,
Gwen Eustace powered one down to spark a four-point string that put Salisbury up 16-13, but Kean answered with five straight to go back up 18-16. Later, with the Cougars holding a 20-19 lead,
Kiley McTaggart notched a kill and the Sea Gulls parlayed it into a 6-0 set-closing run, drawing even in the match on an attack error that finished it at 25-20.
The third set saw the Cougars record three runs of four points in a row, the last of which turned a 16-15 advantage into a 20-15 lead. SU eventually got within 24-22 on a McTaggart kill, but Morrison's latest strike put it on ice for Kean, 25-22.
In the fourth set the two sides danced evenly to the end. Down 23-22, Eustace put the hammer down to even things up at 23-23. The Cougars would not be denied, though, as Ashley Torok landed back-to-back kills to finish the job and win it for Kean, 25-23.
Game Notes
- Kiley McTaggart led the Sea Gulls up front with 14 kills and also absorbed seven digs.
- Gwen Eustace powered down 13 kills, swinging .400 for the match, while also putting up four blocks (two solo).
- Alyssa DeWaal chipped in seven kills, while Maura Fay added five.
- Julie Altieri posted another double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs, plus five kills.
- Prudence Marco registered 19 digs, while Annabelle Weis chased down seven.
- Salisbury hit .247 as a team for the match against Kean's .256 mark.
MATCH TWO
The Sea Gulls raced out to a 6-1 lead early in the first set and never looked back. Up 11-7 later,
Sophia Tapia powered a kill to start a six-point string to make it 17-7, and after the Hawks answered with two in a row SU netted the final eight, riding a pair of
Sadie Wilkinson kills and
Kiley McTaggart aces to a 25-9 decision.
Salisbury kept its streak going in the second set, making it 15 consecutive points overall with the first seven of the frame, including four on aces from
Elizabeth Villegas. Hunter never got closer than four the rest of the way, and
Gwen Eustace finished things off with a kill to get it to 25-13.
The Sea Gulls opened set three with another extended run, jumping out to an 8-0 lead. Up 13-9 further on, Tapia provided a hammer to spark a string of five, ballooning the lead to 18-9. The Hawks eventually committed a service error to gift the final point and the match to the Gulls, 25-12.
Game Notes
- Kiley McTaggart again led SU with nine kills, swinging .615 for the match after committing just one error. She also set a career high with six of the Sea Gulls' 11 service aces.
- Gwen Eustace landed eight kills with no errors, good for a .615 clip to boost her season swing rate to a national-best .510.
- Eustace also registered seven blocks (two solo), giving herself 349 stuffs for her career and surpassing Abbey Petrecca '07 (346) for fourth on the all-time Salisbury leaderboard. She currently sits 14 blocks back of Carley Todd '13 (363) for third.
- Sophia Tapia hit .778 to produce seven kills, while Sadie Wilkinson added six of her own to go along with four blocks (one solo).
- Julie Altieri set up 21 assists and powered down three kills with three digs.
- Elizabeth Villegas led the back line with seven digs and dealt four aces.
- Salisbury hit a season-best .455 as a team, including .647 in the opening set, and held Hunter to a -.058 attack rate, the lowest SU has allowed this season.
- The Sea Gulls easily won the ace matchup 11-1 and the blocking battle 10-2.
The Sea Gulls continue their nine-match road swing on Friday with a visit to Dickinson. First serve from Carlisle, Pa. is set for 7 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.
