Men’s Volleyball Outlasts Rivier In Season Opener, 3-2

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team defeated Rivier, 3-2, in a back-and-forth matchup on Wednesday night by scores of 28-26, 17-25, 27-25, 18-25, and 19-17 at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Aidan Iacovelli (South Windsor, Conn.) produced a career-high/match-high 18 kills on 43 swings (.302) to highlight the Gulls' attack.

Dean Warner (Kinderhook, N.Y.) also contributed a career-high 16 putways, while Jake Laborde (Brookline, N.H.) notched 10 kills of his own (tied career-high) in the victory.

Gavin Emenaker (Newton, Mass.) facilitated the offense via a match-high 45 assists alongside 10 digs (match-high, second career double-double).

Tonight's contest featured 54 ties (16-8-10-4-16) and 23 lead changes (5-4-6-1-7).

Trailing 14-13 in the fifth set, Endicott rallied behind its home crowd and took advantage of three Rivier miscues to secure the win.

Iacovelli had two kills down the stretch – including the clincher – while Laborde collected one of his team-high four kills when it mattered most (16-15 lead).

The Gulls also registered a set-high .308 hitting percentage (14-6-26) in the fifth set.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Emenaker has now compiled 45 or more assists in three matches in his career.
• Six of his 10 digs correlated in kills.
• Vance Mallory (Playa del Rey, Calif.) was a perfect 38-for-38 on serve receive, with 12 leading to kills (.316).
• Iacovelli went 26-for-27 on serve receive (11 passes ended up terminated, .407).
• Gulls' head coach George Chapell '08 earned his 200th career win, all at Endicott (200-92, .685).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (1-0) visits No. 1 Wentworth on Saturday, January 27 at 11 AM as part of the Fenway Classic this weekend, hosted by Wentworth and Emmanuel. Rivier (1-2) hosts No. 6 Springfield on Saturday at 6 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - Jonny Ratner '24)