CARLISLE, Pa. – The Salisbury University volleyball team went the distance and earned its first five-set victory of the season, outlasting the Dickinson Red Devils 3-2 (25-19, 15-25, 25-15, 22-25, 15-11) on Friday night at the Kline Center.
The teams traded extended runs and point-by-point exchanges throughout a competitive first set. Up 20-16 late,
Jackie Colucci powered down a kill to start a four-point Sea Gull string and get it to set point. The Red Devils answered with the next three, but
Sophia Tapia hammered one down to clinch the opening fixture 25-19.
Dickinson answered with a dominant second set, going on an early 7-0 run to flip a 7-6 hole to a 13-7 lead. Salisbury never got closer than five the rest of the way, and Mallie Thomas' kill put it away at 25-15 to tie the match.
Salisbury flipped the script in set three, building a 14-11 lead early and steadily pulling away with a pair of two- and three-point surges. Tapia's kill jumpstarted the final three-point push that booked the frame for SU, 25-15.
The Red Devils raced out to leads of 5-1 and 9-3 early in set four, eventually ballooning the margin to 13-6. The Sea Gulls tried playing catchup throughout the frame but could never seize the momentum. A strike from Eliette Whittaker wrapped it up for the home side, 25-22, to send it to a decisive fifth.
Down 2-1 to start set five,
Kiley McTaggart blasted a kill to open a four-point Salisbury swing, but Dickinson answered with the next three to draw even at 5-5. The two sides danced together through the next six points until McTaggart landed back-to-back kills to put SU up 10-8. The Sea Gulls answered one Red Devil point with two of their own the rest of the way, and McTaggart's eye-popping eighth kill of the set clinched the match for the Gulls, 15-11.
GAME NOTES
- Kiley McTaggart stuffed the stat sheet from the front and back lines, leading the team with 18 kills and smashing her previous career high with 16 digs as part of her second double-double of the year. McTaggart also contributed four blocks (one solo) and one service ace.
- Sophia Tapia finished one off her career high with 14 kills, swinging at a .500 clip. Tapia also matched McTaggart at the twine with four blocks (one solo).
- Gwen Eustace walloped 10 kills, while Alyssa DeWaal narrowly missed a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs.
- Freshman Jasmine Nelson played a starring role in her first Sea Gull start, registering her first career double-double with 51 assists – the most for an SU setter this season – and 15 digs. Nelson also landed four kills and one ace.
- Prudence Marco chased down a team-leading 22 digs with five assists, while Elizabeth Villegas added 15 digs.
- Salisbury hit .223 as a team and held Dickinson to a .128 attack rate, including just .067 in the fifth set.
- The victory is Salisbury's first in a trio of five-set matches this season. SU had dropped four straight five-setters dating back to last year.
The Sea Gulls will put a capper on September with a tri-match in Grantham, Pa. on Saturday. SU will battle Lebanon Valley at 2 p.m., followed by a joust with hosts Messiah at 4 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.
