Gallaudet Plays Salisbury Tough: Falls 23-25, 20-25, 18-25

On Digs for Pink Night, Gallaudet's volleyball players wore pink uniforms, but were unable to solve the nation's hottest team Salisbury University, despite their best efforts.  Salisbury entered the game on the nation's longest winning streak, 32 games, and are ranked 21st in the nation. Gallaudet played the first two sets close, but too many mistakes proved costly as they lost 23-25, 20-25, 18-25.

"We made too many service errors," said Gallaudet Head Coach Lynn Ray Boren. "We had a total of 15 service errors in the match, and we can't do that against a team like Salisbury and expect to win. We need to reduce this."

Gallaudet was led by Amanda Krieger with 14 kills, Justine Jeter with 8 kills, and Paige Johnson with 29 assists.  As a team, Gallaudet had 40 digs, led by Brittany Ellenbecker with 8.

Depite the loss, Coach Boren is pleased with his team's performance and effort.  "Leaving the gym today I felt good about how we played. We showed we can play with a team like Salisbury which now has 33 straight wins. They always bring out the best in us and vice-versa. Both of us play our best against each other. The match helps us prepare for our next match on Friday against Eastern College, which is ranked 22nd in the nation."

Coach Boren also said the team needs to improve their passing. "This will impact onto our hits."

The team also thanks the fans who showed up in pink is recognition of breast cancer awarreness month and made donations towards digs for pink.  "We want to thank our fans for showing up and inspiring us to play well.  We also want to thank the Athletic Department for the pink uniforms. Our players were really surprised and thrilled!"

With the loss, Gallaudet goes to 15-16 on the season and 4-4 in the CAC.  They finished in fifth place in the Capital Athletic Conference and will travel to Mary Washington College for the first round of the CAC Tournament, on Tuesday, November 4. Before, the CAC Tournament begins,  they will play four matches at the Elizabethtown Tournament, this weekend.