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October 17, 2002

Gallaudet upends Salisbury volleyball

From: Salisbury Daily Times, MD
Oct. 17, 2002

By Dave Prusak
Daily Times Sports Writer

SALISBURY -- Freshman Nicole Snell of Los Angeles had five straight service points in the fifth game to give Gallaudet University the lead for good, and the Bison defeated Salisbury University 20-30, 32-19, 30-19, 18-30, 15-9 in a two-hour, 10-minute Capital Athletic Conference volleyball match Wednesday night.

Salisbury (13-11 overall, 3-3 CAC) was outscored by Catholic by 34 points, and Gallaudet (10-13, 3-3) was outscored by Catholic by 28 points in matches this past week against a common opponent, so Wednesday's match figured to be close -- and it was, in rollercoaster fashion.

"Our Achilles heel all season has been allowing our opponent to get on a roll, and it hurt us again today in the fifth and deciding game,'' Salisbury coach Margie Knight said. "We ran our tempo in the first and fourth games, and Gallaudet ran their tempo in the second, third, and fifth games.

"We didn't serve well in the second and third games,'' Knight said. "And it allowed Gallaudet to get into their game. This was a rollercoaster match, and momentum can change in volleyball so fast, unlike in other sports. Gallaudet played well.''

Senior Monica McLaughlin (22 total assists) had three straight service points, and freshman Brittany Mister had four straight service points as Salisbury raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first game, in which they never trailed. Gallaudet pulled within five points five times, but senior Samantha Crehan had four straight service points to stretch the Sea Gulls' lead to 11 points, 22-11, before SU pulled away to its 10-point win.

Gallaudet then turned the tide in the second game, in which they never trailed. The Bison really got their killing game going in the game, as freshman Tamijo Foronda (17 total kills) of California and freshman Valerie Trofimenkoff of Ontario, Canada, had three kills each and Snell had two kills as Gallaudet raced out to a 10-3 lead. Sophomore Niesha Washington of New Orleans and Snell had four straight service points in the game. Gallaudet coach Patrick O'Brien dropped his notebook twice in disgust during the game, disputing the score, as the Bison had two more points than what was on the scoreboard, and SU had one less.

Neither team led by more than three points in the early part of the third game, but Gallaudet took the lead for good, 8-7, and four straight service points by junior Raylene Lotz (47 total assists) of Austin, Texas, helped give Gallaudet a 15-8 lead. Sophomore Bellamie Bachleda of Twinsburg, Ohio, also had four straight service points as Gallaudet took the third game 30-19.

Just when it looked like Gallaudet might have momentum in needing one more game win to take the match, SU never trailed in the fourth game. Senior Kelli Martin had five straight service points as the Sea Gulls took a commanding 18-9 lead in the game. Junior Suzanne Powell of Salisbury also had five service points in the game.

Salisbury didn't trail early in the fifth and deciding game, leading 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, and 4-3. But Snell gave Gallaudet the lead for good, 5-4, with a service point, and then served four more straight points as the Bison led 9-4. SU got to within four points of Gallaudet four times after that, but that was as close as they could get.

Salisbury travels to Westminster on Friday for the McDaniel Tournament, where they will play Scranton (Pa.) at 5 p.m. and Eastern (Pa.) at 7 p.m. They will continue tournament play Saturday.

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