Endicott Falls in Straight Sets to Brandeis

BEVERLY, MASS.-  The Judges of Brandeis caught the Gulls of Endicott on a night that everything seemed like a struggle.  With a consistent offense putting pressure on the young Gulls, the Judges were able to win in straight sets 25-9, 25-19 and 25-18.

Endicott found it difficult to gain any momentum right out of the gate and fell behind early.  Brandeis was able to put together consistent serve receive and scrappy defense to put forth a solid offense out of receive and in transition.  The Judges were led on the night by outside Liz Hood.  The 5-11 sophomore was able to produce 15 kills and only four errors on 34 attempts.  Senior Lauren Berens was able to chip in an error free night with four kills on 14 attempts as junior setter Yael Einhorn orchestrated the offense with 28 assists in the three set victory.

The Gulls were led defensively by senior libero Ashley Norley who finished with 20 digs.  Offensively, the Gulls kill leader was Fayln Torelli, as she ended the night with six kills.  Endicott also received a solid performance from freshman Mackenzie Guerre who finished with five kills on 13 swings.  Sophomore Sierra Kenkel was able to enter the match and provide a nice spark on defense and with her serving.  The defensive specialist was able to record two aces and three digs in the losing effort.

Endicott will now look to regroup quickly as a matchup with conference rival Roger Williams awaits on Saturday.  The Gulls will travel to Bristol, Rhode Island for a 1 p.m. start.  The two teams have met in the championship match for the last two seasons.  

Brandeis is also off until Saturday as they host Emmanuel College at 12 p.m.