Gulls open invitational with pair of wins

Box Score - Match One
Box Score - Match Two


BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women’s volleyball team downed Salve Regina, 3-1, before posting an impressive come-from-behind five-set win over Eastern Connecticut to open the 2009 Endicott Invitational on Friday evening in Beverly, Mass. The victories improve the Gulls’ record to 4-1 on the season.

Endicott opened the afternoon with a 3-1 win over fellow TCCC member Salve Regina. The Gulls cruised to a 25-11 win in the opening set, and then found themselves on the losing end of a 25-20 mark in the second game. After a nail biting 25-21 victory in game three, Endicott was able to secure a 25-13 win to close out the match.

\#Steph Wiese\# (Higganum, Conn.) led the way for the Blue and Green with 16 kills and 13 digs. Freshman \#Ashley Norley\# (Sudbury, Mass.) had seven kills and 14 digs while fellow Sudbury native \#Brittany Phillips\# (Sudbury, Mass.) had five kills, three aces, seven digs and 2 ½ total blocks.

Julianne Barry (Randolph, Mass.) paced the Seahawks with 11 kills and 2 ½ total blocks. Megan Clancy (Chelmsford, Mass.) had 16 digs while sophomore Jessica Meyer (Seymour, Conn.) dished out 13 assists.

In the nightcap, Endicott rallied from a two games to one deficit to stun Eastern Connecticut State University. Facing defeat in the fourth game, the Gulls erased a 20-12 Warriors’ lead by going on a 13-2 run to close out the set. The Gulls kept the momentum going into the fifth and deciding set, holding off East Conn. with a 15-10 win.

\#Steph Wiese\# was once again outstanding, finishing the match with a game-high 21 kills. \#Brittany Phillips\# chipped in with eight kills and 13 digs, while Norley and \#Amy Grigg\# (Vernon, Conn.) had six kills apiece. \#Ally Murphy\# (Gilford, Conn.) handed out 27 assists and 16 digs, while freshman \#Mollie Postma\# (Everett, Wash.) had 13 assists and 12 digs.

Eastern Connecticut got a team-high 17 kills from sophomore Samantha Slonski (Griswold, Conn.). Britt Carrier (Southington, Conn.) notched 36 assists and 16 digs while Taylor Abelli (Cheshire, Conn.) had 25 digs for the Warriors.

Endicott gets back to action on Saturday as the Endicott Invitational Tournament moves on to day two. The Gulls host Emmanuel College at 11:00 a.m. and close out the weekend with Bowdoin at 3:00 p.m.