The Salisbury University Sea Gulls (31-4) defeated The City College of New York Beavers (24-13) 3-0 in the first match played in the New York Region of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
Played at New York University's Coles Sports Center on Thursday, November 12, the Sea Gulls fell behind early in each set, but managed to overcome their deficit each time.
Trailing 10-9 int he first set, the Capital Athletic Conference champions used a 5-1 run to pull away for good. They led by as many as six, 20-14, before settling for a 25-21 win in set one.
The next set ended with the same 25-21 score despite the Sea Gulls trailing by as many as four points (10-6) early in the contest. However, the City University of New York Athletic Conference champion Beavers could not hold the lead, finally losing it for good at 16-15. Salisbury used a 7-0 streak to go from trailing 15-12 to taking an insurmountable 19-15 advantage.
The third set was not as competitive, as the Sea Gulls used an early 5-0 run to take a 6-2 lead and go on to a 25-19 match-clinching victory.
Rachel Downs led the Salisbury attack with 14 kills, while Nicole Massarelli added 10. Carley Todd finished with a match-high 20 set assists, while Lexy Fitzkee (17) and Gabby Long (11) each had double-digit digs for the Sea Gulls.
Floriana Garo led the Beaver with 11 kills. Alexis Kinsman (16) and Jasmine Bermudez (10) each collected double-digit set assist totals, Nicole Cascone finished with a team-high 13 digs.
Salisbury now faces the winner of the SUNY New Paltz/Roger Williams University match-up.