Endicott trips up Newbury in straight sets; Gulls remain unbeaten in NECC

BEVERLY, Mass. – Senior middle Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) filled the stat sheet with eight kills, eight blocks assists, and six digs while freshman outside John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) tied for a match-high 12 kills as the Endicott men's volleyball team remained unbeaten in NECC play with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-20) victory over Newbury on Wednesday evening. 

The Gulls improved to 8-4 (3-0 NECC) behind an overall team effort that saw the Blue and Green hit .330 and block 11.5 Newbury attempts.  Endicott continues the conference schedule on Saturday and Sunday this weekend against Lesley and Southern Vermont.

Newbury (2-6, 1-2 NECC) benefited from a 12-kill match from leading attacker, sophomore outside hitter Jake Powell (Salinas, Calif.), and a gritty defensive effort by sophomore Chi Yin Li (Framingham, Mass.), freshman Tyler Sayne (Tucson, Ariz.), and junior Cody Braden (Fair Grove, Mo.) who had 10, nine, and eight digs, respectively.  The Nighthawks will take on NECC rival Elms and Lasell in a home tri-match on Saturday. 

Endicott's offensive attack was set up by freshman setter and reigning NECC Rookie of the Week Tyler Bacon (Cypress, Calif.) who registered at least 30 assists for the fifth straight match.  He finished with 36 assists, connecting with eight different Gulls hitters. 

Coniglione recorded all eight of his kills without an error, as did fellow middle Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.) who struck eight kills on 12 attempts for a .667 hitting percentage.  Junior right side Josh Anderson (La Canada, Calif.), after a slow start to his match, turned it on in the second set with all six of his kills. 

Defensively, Coniglione and Osborne led with six digs each while sophomore libero Kristian Catalan (Sudbury, Mass.) and Anderson each contributed with five apiece.  Osborne and Anderson were also active at the net with a combined eight assisted blocks and one solo stop.