The Muhlenberg volleyball team opened its 2019 season by winning one of four matches at Salisbury's Sea Gull Classic.

The Mules played a pair of marathons on their first day, going five sets with both Thiel and Clark (Mass.). They outlasted Clark, 15-13, in the fifth set, to pick up their win.

Muhlenberg was swept by host Salisbury and Susquehanna, a team receiving votes in the Division III preseason poll, on the second day, in matches that were closer than the scores showed.

Senior Tara Register (pictured above) led the Mules with 36 kills in the four matches, including a career-high 20 in the win against Clark. She also had 19 digs in that match, narrowly missing just the second 20-kill, 20-dig effort by a Muhlenberg player in the last 15 years.

Sophomore Megan Ray was close behind with 31 kills, blowing past her 2018 season total of 13. She notched a career-high 11 kills vs. Thiel and added 9 in the Clark win.

Junior Maya Illovsky averaged 5.19 digs per set over the weekend, picking up 25 digs against both Clark and Salisbury, to earn all-tournament honors for the third time in her career. She now has 959 career digs, just 41 away from becoming the 14th Mule to reach 1,000.

Freshman Emma Eglinton ran the offense with 82 assists in her first collegiate matches, while junior Alycia Long posted career highs of 6 kills and 6 blocks vs. Thiel. Sophomore Lauren Achey also made her college debut at Salisbury, totaling 8 kills and 5 blocks.