Gulls Split Tri-Match: Knock Off Bates 3-1 While Falling to Amherst 3-0

AMHERST, Mass.- Coming off of a weekend in which they knocked off two regionally ranked teams but fell to Bates, the Gulls were out for revenges against the Bobcats as they travelled to Amherst to square off again just a week later.  Amherst College played host for the tri-match which saw Endicott go 1-1 on the day by turning last week's 3-2 loss to Bates into a 3-1 victory this week before losing to Amherst 3-0.

Match One:  Endicott 3 Bates 1

Just a week after playing each other at the MIT Invitational, Endicott and Bates travelled to Amherst, Mass. to square off for a second time in the 2013 season.  In the first matchup, Bates prevailed 3-2 after holding a 2-0 lead against the young Gulls.  Proving that they continue to learn and improve, Endicott came out on fire against the Bobcats on their way to a comanding 3-1 win on Saturday.

In the first set, Endicott's offense was on fire as the team recorded a line of 15-2-29, good for a .448 hitting percentage.  Bates struggled to kick their offense into gear early as they team only hit .161 in the same set.  Behind that offensive surge, the Gulls would take the first set 25-16.  The Bobcats proved to be resilient however and would not go easily as they stormed back to take a tightly contested third set 25-23.  While the offenses hit at a similar clip (.250 for Bates, .235 for Endicott), it was Bates who had the advantage in total kills 17 to 11 which proved to be the difference.  In yet another extremely close affair, Endicott took the pivotal third set 28-26 to give the Gulls the 2-1 advantage.  Endicott and Bates recorded 11 and 12 kills respectively with Endicott having the advantage in hitting percentage .200 to .111.  That edge, with Bates' eight hitting errors, helped the Gulls gain the upperhand in the match and would provide Endicott with all the momentum they would require to claim the fourth and deciding set.  The Gulls continued their consistent offensive performance by hitting .222 with 12 kills in the fourth set compared to just nine and an .026 clip for Bates to win the match 3-1.

The Gulls also used a solid defensive effort to claim the victory.  That defensive performance was led by freshman libero Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) who picked up a match-high 20 digs.  Freshman Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) and sophomore Jessica Petrucci (Cape Coral, Fla.) each chipped in with 10 digs of their own.  Offensively, Endicott was led by reigning CCC Offensive Player of the Week Callie Dolan (Westford, Mass.) and sophomore Mackenzie Guerre (Carlsbad, Calif.).  Dolan, continuing her impressive campaign on the outside, tied for the match-high in kills with 20 while taking 45 swings and hitting at a .356 clip.  Dolan was also a presence defensively as she picked up four total blocks in the match (1 solo, 3 assist).  Guerre was a consistent force again as she totaled 11 kills while also picking up four assist blocks.  Sophomore Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) was the driving force behind the offense as she picked up 41 assists in the four set victory.  VandeMerkt also tallied eight digs in the win.

Match Two:  Endicott 0 Amherst 3

Coming off the victory, Endicott had a quick turnaround as they immediately took the court to take on the hosts of Amherst College.  The Lord Jeffs had defeated Bates 3-0 in the first match of the tri-match and proved to be too much for the Gulls to handle as well as Endicott was swept 3-0.

The Gulls, while getting another solid defensive effort from Trudon, struggled to get going offensively in the match against Amherst.  The Lord Jeffs hit an impressive .308 on the match while the Gulls could only manage a .021 clip.  The Gulls went from hitting -.118 to .143 in sets one to three and the scores reflected such as Endicott fell 25-11, 25-18 and 25-20.  

Trudon, who served up two aces in the match, also picked up 14 digs to complete the weekend averaging nearly five per set in the two matches while also not comitting an error on serve receive.  Offensively, Mackenzie Guerre continued to impress out of the middle as she led the team with eight kills and hit at a .316 clip.  Guerre also picked up two assist blocks in the match as VandeMerkt totaled another 21 assists.

Endicott is now off until Wednesday evening when they travel to Biddeford, Maine to take on the Nor'Easters of the University of New England.  The Gulls will be out for a bit of revenge again as they are looking to avenge last season's 3-2 regular season loss to the Nor'Easters.  That loss snapped a string of 17 consecutive wins for the Gulls and was the first win for UNE since 1995.