Endicott Sweeps Competition on Day One of MIT Invitational

BEVERLY, Mass.-  Behind consistent efforts on both sides of the ball, the Endicott women's volleyball team swept past both opponents on day one of the Endicott Invitational to improve to 5-3 on the season.  In the first match, the Gulls were able to sweep the Rams of Suffolk 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-23) before also recording a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-16) sweep over the Bobcats of Bates in the night cap.  Endicott now travels to MIT tomorrow to take on Springfield and host MIT at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively.

MATCH ONE- ENDICOTT 3 SUFFOLK 0

In the first match of the day, the Gulls used a dominant defensive effort to stifle any attack the Rams would produce as Endicott held Suffolk to a negative hitting percentage for the match.  The first two sets would see Suffolk manage just a -.167 average while Endicott produced at a .174 clip.  Endicott held Suffolk to six kills through two sets and 14 kills on the match while the Gulls recorded 23 through the first two and 36 for the match. 

In the first set, Endicott was led by a trio of sophomores in Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.), Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) as they took the set 25-16.  Watts produced a team high five kills on nine attempts and hit .444 to pair with Sugrue's perfect two kills on two swings.  Trudon was everywhere defensively, picking up a team high seven digs in the first set alone.

Suffolk was led by libero Yabriela Perez (Dorchester, Mass.) who picked up six digs of her own as Krista Iacobucci (Rocky Hill, Conn.) led the team offensively with two kills.  Setting Glamarys Sierra (Carolina, P.R.) distributed two assists in the set while also picking up four digs of her own.

The second set would see the Gulls dominate and benefit from a balanced offensive attack as six players would register kills with not one picking up more than three on their way to a 25-9 win.  Freshman Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge, Wash.) led the Gulls with three kills on four swings while Elise Morgan (Holbrook, Mass.) and Watts chipped in with two each.  Setter Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) dished out nine assists, two more than the first, while Trudon picked up three more digs and all of the team's four aces in the second set.  Freshman Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) led the Gulls defensive efforts with a set high four digs.

Suffolk received two kills from Jane Buckley (Plaistow, N.H.) and two more assists from Sierra in the set.  Sierra and Perez both picked up four digs while Katie Matatall (Danville, N.H.) chipped in with two of her own.

The third and final set would see a resilient Suffolk team come out fighting and force a two point set as the Gulls would earn a 25-23 set win and clinch the 3-0 match win.  Endicott again received solid efforts from a variety of Gulls to keep the Rams at bay late in the match.  VandeMerkt would finish the set with 11 assists, giving her 27 for the match and an average of nine per set while Trudon would add five more digs, giving her 15 for the match and an average of five per set.  Sugrue came up big when the team needed her to, putting down six kills on just nine swings as she hit .556 in the set and .636 on the match (8-1-11).  Watts chipped in two kills on her only two swings of the set as she put forth a .412 line while recording a match high nine kills. 

Suffolk received a great effort from Buckley down the stretch as the freshman middle hit .500 in the third (3-1-4) to close the match with a team high .222 average (5-3-9).  Buckley tied with Iacobucci for the team lead in kills with five as Sierra dished out 12 assists in the setback.  The Rams saw Matatall, Sierra and Perez reach double digits in digs as Sierra and Matatall each notched 11 while Sierra picked up a team high 14.

MATCH TWO- ENDICOTT 3 BATES 0

In the final match of the evening, Endicott would put forth their most complete performance to date in 2014 and used a fantastic defensive effort along with a consistent performance to sweep the Bobcats and move to 4-4 all-time against Bates.  For the match, the Gulls would hit at a .194 clip while holding Bates to just a .064 average.  Each team sold out on defense and matched the other dig for dig as both squads dug 61 attacks.  Endicott held the edge blocking as well, posting five total blocks to just one for the Bobcats.

For the match, Endicott was led offensively by the middle tandem of Knapp (12-5-30, .233) and Sugrue (6-1-9, .556) while McIntyre (10-4-35, .171) would record her third double-double of the year, also picking up 12 digs.  VandeMerkt would produce an astounding 37 assists (12.33/set) in the sweep to direct the Endicott offense to their second win over Bates in the last two seasons. 

The Gulls were able to limit Bates' dominant outside threat in Chandler McGrath (Seal Beach, Calif.) to a -.051 average (6-8-39) while Abby Leberman (Concord, N.H.) and Brynn Wendel (Boxford, Mass.) would finish with five and four kills.  McGrath, Laryssa Schepel (Flemington, N.J.) and Nicole Cueli (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) would all crack double digit totals in digs with 18, 14 and 13 respectively. 

The first set Endicott dominate offensively, racking up 17 kills on 46 attempts (.239) while holding Bates to just six kills on 31 attempts (.032).  Endicott used dominant performances from their two middles in Knapp and Sugrue as well as their opposite in Watts as the trio posted a 12-0-24 (.500) line in the opening frame.  Knapp would record a set high six kills on 10 swings (.600) while adding three digs and assist block to set the tone in the middle with Sugrue who hit .750 by tallying three kills on four error-free swings.  Watts was also effective, picking up three kills on ten swings (.300).

VandeMerkt distributed a staggering 16 assists in the first set, by far the set high.  Trudon would again lead the defensive efforts as she notched six digs, just edging out fellow sophomore Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) who picked up four of her own.

Bates was led by a pair of sophomores in Hannah Tardie (Orange, Calif.) and Chandler McGrath defensively in the first as the players tied for the team high in digs with five.  McGrath also tied with Brynn Wendel (Boxford, Mass.) for the team high in kills with two as Tardie recorded four assists as well.

The second set would prove to be a much tighter affair as the Gulls would edge the Bobcats 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.  The Gulls saw McIntyre, Sugrue and VandeMerkt lift the team in the second as McIntyre tallied a team high five kills in the set on 10 swings (.400) to go along five digs while Sugrue had a perfect 2-0-2 (1.000) line.  The sophomore middle also picked up an assist block in the set, part of a 3.0 - 0.0 advantage blocking for the Gulls in what would be just a three point victory.  VandeMerkt was stellar once again, picking up 13 assists and two assist blocks, giving her 29 assists through just two sets.  Trudon and senior Jessica Petrucci (Cape Coral, Fla.) were solid on defense with Trudon recording six more digs and Petrucci tying for the set high with seven.

Bates received a team high three kills on 12 attempts (.167) from McGrath to go along with a team high seven digs in the second.  Libero Laryssa Schepel (Flemington, N.J.) finished second in the set with five digs while setter Jacqueline Forney (Bloomington, Ind.) would distribute seven kills to lift the offense to a .119 average.  Middle Nicole Peraica (East Northport, N.Y.) chipped in two kills on her two swings (1.000) to lead the team in the set with a perfect average.

In the third and final set, Endicott used a relentless attack to take a 25-16 set and sweep the match 3-0.  The Gulls would hit .175 (11-4-40) in the clinching set compared to just .028 (8-7-36) for the visitors.  Each team would record a block with the Bobcats holding the edge defensively with 23 digs to Endicott's 19 while the Gulls held the advantage serving, recording three aces to just one for Bates.

Sophomore's Knapp and McIntyre would each record three kills to lead the offense as VandeMerkt totaled another eight assists to finish her night with 37.  Petrucci and Trudon both again led the defensive effort as each recorded five assists, just edging out Pierce who logged four of her own.

Bates saw juniors Mary Deneen (Windsor, Conn.) and Abby Leberman (Concord, N.H.) lead the offense with two kills apiece as Forney dished out six assists in the frame.  Nicole Cueli (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) was a rock defensively, digging up some fierce line shots from the Gulls to record a set high nine digs while McGrath and Schepel picked up six and five respectively.

With the wins, Endicott improves to 5-3 on the season and travels to MIT tomorrow to take on Springfield and host MIT at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively.  Suffolk will compete against Husson at 11:00 a.m. and Colby at 1:00 p.m. while Bates plays host MIT at 11:00 a.m. before squaring off against DeSales at 1:00 p.m.  Endicott is next home on the 25^th as they play host to former CCC rival Colby-Sawyer at 7:00 p.m.