St. Mary's City, Md. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland volleyball team became one of only six teams to take at least one set from No. 23 Salisbury University this season.  The Seahawks dropped a hard-fought 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 20-25, 27-29) decision to Salisbury in Capital Athletic Conference action Tuesday night.

Salisbury (14-1, 2-0 CAC) outlasted the Seahawks 29-27 in the final set for the match victory.  St. Mary's owned an 18-15 advantage before the Sea Gulls slowly creeped back up and forced the win by two situation.  Senior outside hitter Jenn Rindone's (Crofton, Md./Archbishop Spalding) kill made it a 27-27 draw.  Senior opposite Jenna Shay's (Dunkirk, Md./Northern) kill gave Salisbury a one-point lead while a block by middle hitters Tam Weems (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) and Chelsea Glowacki (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) sealed the win.

Right-side hitters Shelby Mullennix (California, Md./Leonardtown) and Michelle Klima (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) paced St. Mary's in tonight's match with 14 and 10 kills, respectively.  Setters Dani Thorne (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) and first-year setter Grace Chao (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) combined for 33 assists.

The Seahawks (7-3, 1-1 CAC) led by as many as three points in the first set but Salisbury used a six-point run during senior setter Carley Todd's (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) service.  The Sea Gulls never relinquished the advantage en route to a 25-18 win as St. Mary's never got any closer than 12-11.

St. Mary's trailed twice early on in the second set but after a 7-6 deficit, the Seahawks constructed a 10-3 run to boast a six-point lead that the Sea Gulls never overcame, pulling only within 19-15.  The Seahawks closed out the game on a 6-0 run for a 25-19 triumph.  Mullennix contributed three kills while Klima and Thorne added two kills each.

The third set went to Salisbury, 25-20, despite a strong rally by the Seahawks.  St. Mary's overcame an 11-6 setback with an 8-3 push to force a 14-14 draw but could not get over the hump as the Sea Gulls used an 11-6 run to claim the win.

Four Seahawk players finished with double digit digs with senior outside hitter Cecilia Blanc (Gaithersburg, Md./Poolesville) and junior libero Bianca Livioco (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) leading the way with 16 each.  First-year middle blocker Mandy Goodspeed (Columbia, Md./Atholton) contributed to the defensive effort with five solo blocks.

Shay paced the Salisbury attack with 13 kills while Glowacki finished with 27 digs and Todd dished 47 assists.

The Seahawks will be back in action on Saturday, September 22 as St. Mary's hosts Johns Hopkins University and Messiah College in a tri-match in the Michael P. O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena.  Matches are at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 pm.

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