Endicott Volleyball Splits on Day One of UMass Boston Invitational

BOSTON, Mass. – Endicott women's volleyball competed on day one of the UMass Boston Invitational against the host Beacons and Colby-Sawyer.  The Gulls earned two victories on the day and improved their season record to 14-10 overall. 

Match One: Endicott 3, UMass Boston 1 (25-23, 24-26, 25-20, 25-18)

Endicott sophomore middle Mackenzie Guerre (Carlsbad, Calif.) struck a career-high 20 kills with a .645 hitting percentage to lead the Blue and Green over UMass Boston in match one.  Guerre finished the match with no errors on 31 attempts while adding two service aces and four total blocks. 

Guerre's offensive outburst was complemented by a pair of 12-kill performances by sophomore outside Jackie Cone (Salem, N.H.) and freshman outside Lilly Benabou (Medway, Mass.).  Both players contributed towards an overall team hitting percentage of .312 against a Beacons squad that won the NCAA New England Regional Final in 2012. 

Sophomore setter Alleigh Vandemerkt (Riverside, Ill.) dished out 42 assists with 10 digs as she also hooked up with Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) and Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) for six and five kills, respectively.

Defensively, freshman Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) had a team-high 19 digs with Cone adding 11 of her own.  Knapp matched Guerre with a team-high four blocks. 

Match Two: Endicott 1, Colby-Sawyer 3 (25-15, 25-17, 18-25, 25-23)

Trudon turned in a season-high 31-dig effort against Colby-Sawyer in Endicott's second match of the UMass Boston Invitational, but the freshman's defensive performance could contain a Chargers offense that sported four double-digit kill leaders.  Trudon also served up a team-high three service aces in the loss.

Vandemerkt amassed 28 assists in the match, finding Guerre and McIntyre for eight kills apiece and Cone for another six.  Guerre blocked three Colby-Sawyer attacks at the net to bring her block total to four on the day. 

Knapp turned in a solid effort with five kills without an error on 14 attempts for a .357 hitting percentage.  

Endicott continues their weekend at the UMass Boston Invitational on Sunday against Haverford at 10:00 am and Babson at 4:00 pm.