SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University volleyball team endured a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-13) setback at the hands of the rival Christopher Newport Captains in Wednesday evening's Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) match at the Maggs Physical Activities Center.
In a back-and-forth first set, the Sea Gulls broke a late 18-18 draw with three straight kills from
Sophia Tapia,
Ellie Mitchell, and
Elizabeth Gordon to go up 21-18. The teams traded the next four and SU held a 23-20 advantage, but a service error opened the door for the Captains, who quickly tied the score and stole the set 25-23 on an Alli Pratt block and SU hitting error.
Salisbury built a 12-9 lead in the second set, but CNU reeled off five straight points to go up 14-12 and never trailed again. The Sea Gulls hung tough and sat within 22-20 late, but two straight Jasmine Williams strikes and an SU misfire salted it away for the Captains, 25-20.
The third set was all CNU, who quickly built an early 6-3 cushion into a 10-3 margin and pushed it as high as 20-7. The Sea Gulls nibbled their way back to within 10 but it was too little, too late, and Simara Alexander's final kill clinched the sweep at 25-13.
GAME NOTES
- Julie Altieri reached 1,000 digs for her career during the first set to become the fourth setter in Sea Gull history to register 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs. She finished with 27 helpers and four digs, plus two kills and a service ace.
- Amanda Meschi racked up a team-high 12 kills while adding five digs, an ace, and a block assist.
- Elizabeth Gordon was SU's most efficient attacker, putting down seven kills (.385) to go along with two aces, while Ellie Mitchell added seven kills of her own.
- Sophia Tapia chipped in three kills, a solo block, and a block assist.
- Sophia Blaufuss paced the defense with 14 digs, while Mattox Adams chased down nine.
- CNU swung over .300 in every set and outhit Salisbury .333 to .135 for the match. The Captains also blocked 10 Sea Gull attacks while SU only managed two stuffs.
The Sea Gulls head across the Bay Bridge on Saturday for an in-state matchup with Johns Hopkins. First serve from Baltimore is set for 1 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.
