VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Salisbury University volleyball team closed out the Batten Quad with a split of two matches on Saturday at TowneBank Arena, sweeping the Benedictine (Ill.) Eagles 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-16) in a rematch of Friday's opener before falling to the 18th-ranked hosting Marlins in four sets, 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18).
MATCH ONE
The Eagles grabbed an early 5-3 lead in the first set, but the Sea Gulls caught up as part of a 9-2 swing to go in front 14-10. Leading 18-14 later,
Elizabeth Gordon landed a kill to spark a 7-2 closing run that saw SU take the opening frame 25-16.
The teams jousted early in set two but Salisbury seized control for good with six straight, starting with a kill from
Sophia Tapia, to take command at 10-5. The Eagles never got closer than three the rest of the way, and
Mattox Adams' kill on a setter dump capped a 6-1 flourish to finish the frame at 25-15.
The third set started tight again, tied eight times through the midpoint. The Sea Gulls finally broke away with a trio of four-point bursts, the last of which ballooned a 20-14 margin to 24-14 before a BenU attack error iced it for the Gulls, 25-16.
GAME NOTES
- Kiley McTaggart led Salisbury with 12 kills at a .333 clip, adding 10 digs for her second double-double of the year.
- Amanda Meschi added 10 kills with nine digs, while Sophia Tapia added eight kills (.400) and notched five blocks (one solo).
- Mattox Adams ran the show for the first two sets with 18 assists. Julie Altieri chipped in nine while handling the third.
- Sophia Blaufuss paced the defense with a match-high 14 digs, plus five assists.
- The Sea Gulls hit .230 as a team and held Benedictine to a negative rate for the second straight match at -.011.
- SU dealt nine service aces to BenU's two.
MATCH TWO
The Sea Gulls built its biggest lead of the opening set late at 20-16, but the Marlins stormed back with nine of the final 11 points, including four straight from blocks, stealing the set 25-22 on an ace from Maelyn Thams.
The second set echoed with the first as Salisbury built an 18-12 cushion, its largest of the frame, only to watch Batten rise up again. Riding a torrid hitting stretch from Hannah Smith, who killed it five times for the Marlins' final seven points, BU closed on a 13-4 surge to escape 25-23.
SU finally broke through in the third, a back-and-forth affair that featured 13 ties with the latest coming at 20-20. From there the Sea Gulls battened down for five straight, riding a block from
Elizabeth Gordon and
Kiley McTaggart to take the fixture 25-20.
The fourth saw the Marlins break it open early with a 9-1 stretch to build a 4-3 margin into 13-4. The Sea Gulls got as close as two at 18-16, but BU countered with five straight and closed it out with five straight and seven of the final nine. A tandem block from Aajah Vazquez and Niya Nash sealed the deal, 25-18, for the school formerly known as Virginia Wesleyan University.
GAME NOTES
- Amanda Meschi and Kiley McTaggart both went for double-doubles, with Meschi hitting 13 kills and 10 digs while McTaggart notched 11 and 10. McTaggart also dealt four service aces.
- Sophia Tapia paced the front line with a team-high six blocks (one solo) to go along with six kills.
- Julie Altieri ran the offense wire-to-wire with 30 assists and 12 digs, good for her third double-double of the season (52nd career). In the fourth set, she became the fourth setter in Sea Gull history to reach 3,000 assists for her career, finishing the match at 3,002 to put her within 84 of third on the program leaderboard.
- Sophia Blaufuss paced the defense with a match-high 19 digs.
- Salisbury hit .126 as a team to Batten's .225. SU won the ace battle 11-7.
The Sea Gulls remain on the road again next weekend for the Swarthmore Invitational in Swarthmore, Pa., facing the hosts on Friday at 6:30 p.m., then DeSales at 1:30 p.m. and Widener at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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.
