Endicott set to compete in NCAA Tournament after capturing NECC title over Elms

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team will compete in the 2013 NCAA DIII Tournament, with the First Round set for April 21^st. after the Gulls handed Elms a 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-20) loss in the NECC Championship on Saturday afternoon in MacDonald Gymnasium.

The victory solidified Endicott's first NECC title and first automatic qualifier into the NCAA DIII Tournament which is entering its second year of existence.  Last season, the Blue and Green came up short in the NECC Championship and suffered a 3-1 defeat to this same Elms squad, narrowing missing a bid into the tournament.

In Saturday's championship match, Endicott got another 40-plus assist number from junior setter Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y.) who was named NECC Tournament Most Valuable Player after posting 41 assists in the semifinals against Southern Vermont and 42 assists against Elms in the title match.  Roche connected with junior right side Josh Anderson (La Canada, Calif.), an All-Tournament honoree, for 14 kills and freshman outside John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) for 11 kills on a .348 hitting percentage. 

Senior right side Matt Devendorf (Glastonbury, Conn.) also earned All-Tournament honors as he posted nine kills against the Blazers following a 13-kill match against the Mountaineers last night. 

Elms saw two of their players honored with All-Tournament nods as junior setter Kevin Welsh (Wilbraham, Mass.) and freshman outside Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) turned in solid efforts.  Welsh dished out 29 helpers while Vautrin totaled 11 kills, six digs, two block assists, and an ace in the championship match.  The Blazers also got a standout effort from sophomore middle Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) who had nine kills with a .292 hitting percentage and a team-high 12 digs. 

Defensively for Endicott, junior libero Aaron Jessee (Okinawa, Japan) had a career-high 16 digs in the match with Osborne and Anderson adding 11 and eight digs, respectively.  In the blocking game, Anderson had five total blocks including four assisted stops.  Freshman Alex Wasik (Milford, Mass.), along with his nine kills, stuffed four shots at the net.  Fellow middle Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) also had a solid match offensively with seven kills but also had a hand in two assisted blocks as well.

Castro led the Blazers with 12 digs with senior Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) and junior Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) adding 10 and nine digs, respectively.  Freshman outside Aleksandr Kuzmenko (Chicopee, Mass.) tied Castro with three assisted blocks to go along with his six kills.