Knapp Named All-Tournament as Gulls Split Pair of Matches Against Regional Powers Springfield and MIT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-  Having gone swept both Bates and Suffolk on day one of the MIT Invitational, the Endicott women's volleyball team would have a much tougher schedule on day two as they squared off against the #1 and #5 ranked teams in New England in Springfield and MIT according to the most recent NEWVA poll.  Endicott, down 2-0 to the Pride, would stun #1 ranked Springfield in a five set thriller before dropping a three set decision to finish fourth at the MIT Invitational.  Endicott moves to 6-4 on the season and will take to the road for their next three contests as they take on Simmons on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. before traveling to Hartford, Conn. to take on Williams and host Trinity on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

MATCH ONE- ENDICOTT 3 SPRINGFIELD 2

Facing a two set deficit against the top ranked Pride, the Gulls were able to dig deep and rally for a three set comeback.  After dropping the first two 21-25 and 16-25, the Gulls ran off wins of 25-16, 25-19 and 15-11 to claim their second win ever over the Pride and their first since 2004, a year in which they also won a five set battle.

The Gulls were led by middle Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) who was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts.  Knapp was able to hit at a .308 clip against the Pride as she notched 14 kills on 26 attempts with six errors.  Setter Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) dished out a match high 46 assists in the win while also picking up 14 digs, marking the fourth time this season she has recorded a double-double performance. 

Sophomore Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) tied Knapp for the team high in kills with 14 while she also produced a double-double, picking up 15 digs.  It was the third double-double of the season for the outside as she continued to display her all-around game.  The defensive effort from the Gulls matched the offensive intensity as freshman Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) shattered her career high in digs with a 26 dig performance.  Sophomore Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) finished second on the roster with 17 digs of her own while senior Jessica Petrucci (Cape Coral, Fla.) notched 12 of her own.

Springfield struggled offensively as sophomore middle Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) was the only player to reach double digits in kills as she picked up a match high 15.  The 6-2 setting tandem of Molly Giannattasio (East Lyme, Conn.) and Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) totaled 24 assists as Giannattasio recorded 11 with Mawdsley leading the way with 13.  Sophomore Meghan Kinee (Williamstown, N.J.) led the way defensively with 15 digs in the setback.

MATCH TWO- ENDICOTT 0 MIT 3

Coming off of a dramatic win against Springfield, Endicott struggled against the host Engineers of MIT in the final match of the tournament to drop a 3-0 decision and end the tournament 3-1 overall and in fourth place.  The Gulls would lose in straight sets by scores of 21-25, 17-25 and 17-25 to drop their record to 6-4 overall and snap a three match winning streak.

Endicott was again led by the duo of McIntyre and Knapp offensively as the two players combined for 19 of the team's 29 kills in the match.  McIntyre knocked down a team high 10 kills (10-2-33, .242) while Knapp was close on her heels, finishing with nine of her own (9-3-21, .286).  VandeMerkt would close the match with 29 more assists, helping her crack the 300 assist mark on the season and bringing her season total to 321 in 10 matches (32.1/match).

The Gulls were led again defensively by libero Erika Trudon as the sophomore finished with 19 in the three set loss (6.33 digs/set).  Pierce played another solid match as well, finishing with 11 in the setback.

MIT, the tournament champions, were led by Megan Gebhard (Howell, Mich.) who led the match with 13 kills while hitting at a .444 clip (13-1-27) and collecting All-Tournament team honors.  Teammate Alli Davanzo (St. John's, Fla.) led the match with a .667 average (8-0-12), while setter Nicole Gagnier (Atlanta, Ga.) collected a match high 37 assists on her way to garnering Tournament MVP honors. 

Endicott moves to 6-4 on the season and will take to the road for their next three contests as they take on Simmons on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. before traveling to Hartford, Conn. to take on Williams and host Trinity on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.