Arlington, Va. – It goes without saying in collegiate athletics – it's always tough to beat the same team twice.  After Marymount downed Salisbury in a four-set thriller on October 15th, the Seagulls returned to Verizon Sports Arena on Tuesday night with redemption in mind.  The Saints took the early lead after swiping the first set, but Salisbury proved unstoppable as they rolled past the Blue and White to claim the next three (28-26, 21-25, 23-25, 22-25).

The four-set loss knocks the Saints out of CAC contention, and drops the Marymount squad to 26-10 on the season.  The 26-win mark ties the program-record for most wins in a season.

Reigning CAC Player of the Week Katie Stouffer proved the Saints' ultimate undoing, smacking a match-high 19 kills in the postseason affair.

Emileigh Rettig rounded out her impressive sophomore campaign with her team-leading 13th double-double of the season – registering 17 kills and 15 digs to pace the Blue and White.

Morgan McAlpin and Erin Allison followed Rettig with nine and eight kills, respectively, with Allison chipping in 12 digs as well.

The first set no doubt set the tone for the ensuing match, as the Saints needed a couple extra points to swipe the opener.  Marymount was down 20-15 when Rettig stepped up with a big kill to swing possession.  A pair of timely blocks followed, courtesy of Allison and Cailyn Thomas, and brought the Saints within a 20-18 deficit.

A pair of kills from McAlpin knotted the score at 23-23, though the Saints would lose the advantage 26-25 after a Salisbury ace.  It was Rettig then who stepped up and smacked the equalizer, while a pair of Seagull attack errors closed out set one.

The second set saw the visitors jump out to 6-1 lead, though – in true Marymount fashion – the Saints would claw their way back to eventually tie the score at 10-10.  From there, the opening set's point-for-point battle continued, with Salisbury using a pair of kills to stretch the advantage to 22-17.  The five-point Seagull advantage would hold until match-point, when the Saints mounted a small coup, but an eventual Marymount attack error would knot the match at one set apiece.

 The third set saw the squads knot the score 16 different times, proving just how back-and-forth this opening-round CAC battle truly was.  Similarly to the second set, the Seagulls again pulled away late, using a pair of kills from Stouffer to steal the 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set.

Clearly in control, Salisbury took the early lead and eventually grew the margin to 18-10.  While it looked as if the Seagulls were about to coast to an opening round victory, Rettig smacked a kill and sparked a five-point Marymount swing – bringing the Saints to an 18-15 deficit and forcing a Salisbury timeout.

The visitors swiped the next three points to eclipse the 20-point mark, but another five-point Marymount rally was brewing.  A timely Salisbury attack error gave way to kills from Rettig and Thomas – pulling the Blue and White within a paper-thin 21-20 deficit.

Unfortunately, the Seagulls locked up the next three points, pushing match-point and eventually downing the Saints 25-22.  With the win, Salisbury advances to the CAC semifinals on Thursday, where it will take on #2 seed Southern Virginia in Buena Vista.

Please continue to check www.MarymountSaints.com for updates regarding the women's volleyball squad's potential ECAC bid and seeding.