NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Salisbury University volleyball team snagged the first set but ultimately dropped a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18) decision to the Christopher Newport Captains in Friday evening's Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) match at the Freeman Center.
The Sea Gulls fell behind 3-0 early in set one but answered soon after with a 6-0 run, capped by a
Sophia Tapia service ace, to go up 7-4.
Julie Altieri added a pair of aces later to stretch the lead to 10-5, but CNU held steady and rallied for five in a row to flip a 14-11 deficit into a 16-14 lead.
SU netted two in a row to knot it at 16-16 and the sides would tie each other five more times the rest of the way, the last of which came on a
Kiley McTaggart kill to make it 21-21.
Ellie Mitchell then put away a kill and
Kyra Douglass followed with an ace for a 23-21 edge, then after seesawing through the next three points Tapia put down the final kill to close out the 25-23 win.
The second set saw the Captains take control early with six in a row to take a 10-4 lead. Up 12-8 later, CNU kicked it into high gear again with eight straight, capped by a Simara Alexander solo stuff, to make it 20-8. The Sea Gulls settled in and rattled off a valiant rally, fighting off seven straight set points and drawing within 24-21 on an ace from Altieri, but Avery Hanly's strike salted it away for the home side, 25-21, to tie the match.
The third set was another back-and-forth affair featuring eight ties and five lead changes. SU held an 18-17 advantage late but a Samantha Dorn kill spearheaded a three-point swing to put the Captains up 20-18. The Gulls closed the cap to 21-20 but CNU netted four of the final six, winning it 25-22 on a tandem block from Hanly and Alexander.
Set four was another competitive one early, tied 11-11 before CNU reeled off five straight points to go up 16-11. Salisbury netted the next three to get back within 16-14, but the Captains would not let their foes get closer and went on a 6-2 match-closing flourish, putting the set and match on ice, 25-18, on an ace from Hanly.
GAME NOTES
- Elizabeth Gordon led the Sea Gulls with 14 kills (.379) and added a solo block.
- Sophia Tapia put down 10 kills at a .471 clip while dealing four aces and posting four digs and a solo block.
- Ellie Mitchell also chipped in 10 kills, while Sadie Wilkinson added six of her own.
- Julie Altieri dished out 37 assists and chased down 14 digs for her 10th double-double of the season (59th career), plus four aces and two kills.
- Sophia Blaufuss paced the defense with 18 digs and three assists, while Elizabeth Villegas ran down 11 digs.
- The Captains outhit SU .238 to .114 and held a 9-3 edge in blocks.
- The Gulls' 13 aces were their most in a match this season.
The Sea Gulls will remain in Newport News to face Washington & Lee on Saturday at 11 a.m. inside the Freeman Center.
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.
