MIT Athletics/Ollie Piazza

2026 Volleyball Season Preview

By Will DeBoer

8/26/2026 9:30:00 AM

2025 REWIND: GOING FO(U)RTH

The 2025 Salisbury volleyball team set a new program record by qualifying for a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Regular postseason bids have become the standard for Sea Gull volleyball, who also won their most games in a season in 12 years (29) and reached the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Tournament final for the fifth straight year. SU was one of the nation's most formidable teams at the net, finishing the year ranked fifth in Division III in blocks (291), seventh in hitting percentage (.255), and 10th in total kills (1,612).

Record: 29-7 (.806)
22nd consecutive winning season
Most single-season wins since 2013 (29)
4th straight 20-win season
13-match winning streak, Oct. 11-Nov. 14 (longest since 2012)
Received 25 votes in final AVCA national rankings (t-31st)
Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Runner-Up
Defeated Mary Washington 3-0 in semifinals
Fell to Christopher Newport 3-0 in finals
5th consecutive C2C championship match appearance
NCAA Tournament Qualifier
13th appearance in program history (program-record 4th straight)
One of two C2C teams to earn tournament bid (CNU)
Defeated Colorado College 3-2 in first round
Fell to Trinity (Texas) 3-0 in second round
7th time advancing to Round of 32
S Julie Altieri
AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention
All-C2C First Team
C2C All-Tournament Team
CSC Academic All-District
S Beitris Boyreau-Millar
Fulbright UK Summer Institute Award
OH Alyssa DeWaal
CSC Academic All-District
MB Gwen Eustace
AVCA All-America First Team (third 3x All-American in SU history, second-ever First-Teamer)
AVCA All-Region First Team
ECAC Offensive Player of the Year
All-ECAC First Team
C2C All-Sport Athlete of the Year
All-C2C First Team
C2C All-Tournament Team
5x C2C Player of the Week
NCAA Cambridge Regional All-Tournament Team
First SU player to appear in four NCAA Tournaments
CSC Academic All-America Second Team
CSC Academic All-District
Led all NCAA levels with .511 hitting percentage
1 of 10 nationally selected to AVCA Ambassador Tour to Tanzania, Kenya
DS/L Prudence Marco
C2C Defensive Player of the Week, 9/29
RS Kiley McTaggart
All-C2C First Team
2x C2C Offensive Player of the Week
MB Sophia Tapia
All-C2C Second Team
C2C Defensive Player of the Week, 9/22
DS/L Elizabeth Villegas
All-C2C Second Team
C2C Defensive Player of the Week, 10/20
HC Kendall Jacobsen
C2C Coaching Staff of the Year
S Julie Altieri
4th in career assists (2,792)
9th in single-season assists (1,050)
t-11th in single-match assists (58 - 10/18/25 vs. CNU)
MB Gwen Eustace
3rd in career blocks (424)
6th in single-season blocks (129)
t-6th in single-match blocks (9 - 9/12/25 vs. Cortland)
8th in single-season kills (436)
9th in career kills (1,151)
MB Sophia Tapia
t-1st in single-match blocks (11 - 11/20/25 vs. Colorado College)
t-4th in single-season blocks (136)
t-6th in single-match blocks (9 - 11/7/25 vs. Stockton)

THE 2026 SEA GULLS

Salisbury brings back four of its five All-C2C selections from 2025, including two First-Teamers (Julie Altieri, Kiley McTaggart) and two Second-Teamers (Sophia Tapia, Elizabeth Villegas). Altieri is coming off an All-Region honorable mention in 2025, while McTaggart was an All-America honorable mention in 2024. In addition to returning three other players who took the floor in at least 60 sets and another who played in 39 sets, the Sea Gulls welcome five true freshmen and one Division II transfer as part of second-year head coach Kendall Jacobsen's first full recruiting class.

OH Amanda Meschi | So. | Reading, Conn.

MB Sophia Tapia | Jr. | Tenefly, N.J.

RS Kiley McTaggart | Sr. | North Wales, Pa.

DS Sophia Blaufuss | Jr. | Frisco, Texas

DS Annabelle Weis | So. | Webster, N.Y.

DS/L Elizabeth Villegas | Sr. | Charles Town, W.Va.

OH Kyra Douglass | Jr. | Fallston, Md.

2025 (Shippensburg): 1 set played, 1 kill
2024 (Shippensburg): 11 sets played, 13 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks

RS Kiley McTaggart | Sr. | North Wales, Pa.

2025: 367 kills (2.96 K/S), .236 HIT%, 199 digs (1.60 D/S), 90 blocks (0.73 B/S)
National rankings: 47th in points (462), 68th in attacks (1,075), 80th in kills 112th in blocks, 151st in PT/S (3.73), 222nd in K/S
C2C rankings: 3rd in kills, 5th in K/S, 8th in HIT%, 15th in SA/S (0.35)

OH Amanda Meschi | So. | Reading, Conn.

2025: 121 kills (2.02 K/S), 45 digs (0.75 D/S), 15 blocks (0.25 B/S)
C2C rankings: 14th in K/S

MB Sophia Tapia | Jr. | Tenafly, N.J.

2025: 192 kills (1.47 K/S), .292 HIT%, 43 aces (0.33 SA/S), 55 digs (0.42 D/S), 136 blocks (1.04 B/S)
National rankings: 5th in blocks, 44th in B/S, 144th in HIT%
C2C rankings: 1st in blocks, 2nd in B/S, 4th in HIT%

OH Sadie Wilkinson | So. | Southern Shores, N.C.

2025: 50 kills (1.28 K/S), .096 HIT%, 22 digs (0.56 D/S), 15 blocks (0.38 B/S)

S Julie Altieri | Sr. | Hillsborough, N.C.

2025: 1,050 assists (9.21 A/S), 87 kills (0.76 K/S), 46 aces (0.40 SA/S), 305 digs (2.68 D/S), 38 blocks (0.33 B/S)
National rankings: 28th in assists, 47th in A/S
C2C rankings: 2nd in assists, 2nd in A/S, 5th in digs, 11th in D/S
49 career assist-dig double-doubles (17 in 2025)
2 career assist-dig-kill triple-doubles (11/4/23 vs. Catholic, 11/9/24 vs. Stockton)

S Beitris Boyreau-Millar | R-So. | Mt. Joy, Pa.

2025: 2 matches played, 22 assists, 2 digs

DS Sophia Blaufuss | Jr. | Frisco, Texas

2025: 144 digs (2.15 D/S), 17 assists, 15 aces (0.22 SA/S)
C2C rankings: 20th in D/S

DS/L Elizabeth Villegas | Sr. | Charlestown, W.Va.

2025: 414 digs (3.16 D/S), 77 assists (0.59 A/S), 38 aces (0.29 SA/S)
National rankings: 170th in digs
C2C rankings: 2nd in digs, 5th in D/S

DS Annabelle Weis | So. | Webster, N.Y.

2025: 175 digs (1.54 D/S), 22 assists, 39 aces (0.34 SA/S)

S Julie Altieri | Sr. | Hillsborough, N.C.

2026 Salisbury Volleyball Roster

We have a tough schedule that's really going to test us, but what I've seen with this team that's awesome is that they like to be tested and pushed. I'm excited to see them be put in those pressure situations and really step up to the plate.

Kendall Jacobsen, Head Coach (Second Season)