FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Salisbury University volleyball team regrouped from a slow start and outfoxed the Mary Washington Eagles, 3-1 (17-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-18) to open the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Invitational on Friday evening at Ron Rosner Arena.
The Eagles built momentum early in the opening set behind an 8-1 run to go up 12-6. The Sea Gulls got as close as 17-15 but UMW turned it on again with five straight to make it 22-15, closing it out moments later, 25-17, on an Alice Holoubek block.
Salisbury countered by opening the second set on a 10-4 push, punctuated by a
Sophia Tapia block. From there the Eagles regrouped and used a six-point string to flip a 12-7 hole to a 13-12 advantage. The rest of the frame featured big runs from both teams, with SU's six-pointer erased by four straight from UMW to tie it at 21-21. After trading the next two, the Gulls finally put it away with an
Ellie Mitchell kill,
Julie Altieri ace, and Eagle attack error to ice it, 25-22.
Down 9-7 in the third, SU seized control with 10 of the next 12, with
Kiley McTaggart contributing four kills and a block, to build a commanding 17-11. UMW eventually whittled it down to three but could get no closer, and the Sea Gulls put it away on a solo stuff from Tapia, 25-21.
After nine early ties in the fourth set, Salisbury pulled away at the 12-12 mark with five in a row and nine-of-10 to make it 21-13; McTaggart again played a big role in the outburst with six kills and an ace. UMW never got back into it and Mitchell put the match in the books with a kill to clinch it, 25-18.
GAME NOTES
- Kiley McTaggart led the Sea Gulls with 18 kills, adding 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and fourth in her last six matches.
- Ellie Mitchell swung efficiently off the bench, landing 11 kills at a .348 clip.
- Sophia Tapia added eight kills and recorded a team-high three blocks, all of them solo stuffs, to go along with two service aces.
- Elizabeth Gordon was SU's most efficient high-impact hitter, swinging .444 to power down six kills.
- Julie Altieri dishes out 41 assists and added 16 digs for her fifth double-double of the season (54 career).
- Sophia Blaufuss corralled a team-high 17 digs with five assists.
- Elizabeth Villegas dealt three aces while absorbing five digs.
- The Eagles outhit SU .205 to .200 overall, but the Sea Gulls posted better attack rates in all three of their set victories, including a .346 efficiency in the decisive fourth.
- Salisbury has now won nine straight matches against Mary Washington dating back to Sept. 30, 2023. UMW had won nine in a row immediately prior from 2018-22.
The Sea Gulls continue their run at the C2C Invitational on Saturday against UC Santa Cruz, with the neutral-site matchup at Ron Rosner Arena pegged for 1:30 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, 26 individual national championships, and 211 conference championships, and have produced 54 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.
