Salisbury University women’s volleyball swept the Drew Rangers, 3-0, on Sept. 4 at Maggs Physical Activities Center in Salisbury, Maryland, to open the fourth annual Margie Knight Classic. The Sea Gulls won 25-14, 25-12 and 25-12 to improve to 2-0 at the start of the 2026 season.
Elizabeth Villegas recorded the 1,000th dig of her collegiate career on the match’s final point. She led all players with 18 digs as Salisbury completed the sweep.
Salisbury University Women’s Volleyball Controls All Three Sets
Salisbury never trailed in the opening set. Back-to-back service aces from Villegas helped the Sea Gulls build an 8-3 lead before a 6-0 run extended the advantage to 19-8. Amanda Meschi contributed two kills during the run, while Julie Altieri added an ace, and Salisbury closed the set on a Drew attack error.
Salisbury turned a 2-2 tie into a 9-2 advantage with a 7-0 run in the second set. Kiley McTaggart supplied two kills and two aces during the stretch, and Drew never moved within seven points afterward. Altieri ended the set with a setter-dump kill as the Sea Gulls took it 25-12.
The third set followed a similar pattern. Kills from McTaggart, Sophia Tapia and Meschi helped Salisbury establish a 17-8 lead, while Drew briefly cut the margin to 19-11 with three consecutive points. The Sea Gulls answered with four straight points, including a McTaggart ace, before Meschi finished the match with a kill that Villegas dug and Altieri assisted.
Balanced Attack Leads Salisbury
McTaggart and Meschi shared the Salisbury team lead with nine kills apiece. McTaggart also recorded four service aces and four block assists, helping the Sea Gulls win the service-ace battle 12-1 and outblock Drew 9-3.
Tapia added four kills without an error, hit .571 and recorded five blocks, including two solo blocks. Altieri ran the offense with 24 assists while adding three errorless kills and four digs. Salisbury hit .292 as a team, while the Drew Rangers finished with a minus-.110 hitting percentage.
Villegas’ milestone dig came after she had paced the defensive effort throughout the match. Her final dig set up the point that clinched the sweep and brought her collegiate total to 1,000.
Margie Knight Classic Continues Saturday
Salisbury improved to 9-1 all time in the Margie Knight Classic, which began in 2023. The Sea Gulls were scheduled to close the event Saturday, Sept. 5, against Muskingum at 11 a.m. and Lebanon Valley at approximately 5 p.m. inside Maggs Gym.
The official Salisbury University match recap includes the complete scoring and statistical details from the sweep.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
Salisbury University women’s volleyball delivered a complete performance in its opening match of the Margie Knight Classic. The Sea Gulls combined a .292 team hitting percentage with a 12-1 edge in aces and a 9-3 advantage in blocks, while Villegas’ 1,000th career dig added a significant individual milestone to the team’s 2-0 start.
Source: Original report
