Endicott Drops Pair of Matches to NESCAC Foes Amherst and Tufts

MEDFORD, Mass.- The women's volleyball team traveled to Tufts University on Saturday to compete in a tough non-conference tri-match against Amherst and host Tufts, two teams ranked regionally, and fell to both by 3-0 scores.  The Gulls fell to Amherst in the first match by set scores of 24-26, 20-25 and 12-25 before falling to Tufts 19-25, 16-25 and 17-25.  With the losses, Endicott drops to 11-14 (2-2 CCC) on the season and stays on the road for a Wednesday match at Eastern Nazarene on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

MATCH ONE: Endicott 0 - Amherst 3

In the team's first match of the day, the Gulls faced off against an Amherst team that came in ranked #5 in the most recent NEWVA Coaches Poll.  In the match, Amherst out-hit the Gulls .196-.137 while serving up 10 aces without any errors to five aces and four errors for the Gulls.  Amherst also narrowly edged Endicott in digs with 61 digs to 57 for the Gulls.

Elise Morgan (Holbrook, Mass.) and Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) led Endicott with nine and seven kills each.  Morgan also hit a team-high .269 (9-2-26) while Knapp finished with a .200 average (7-3-20).  Erika Trudon was impressive in her libero role, picking up 18 digs, good enough for second in the match, while Jessica Petrucci (Cape Coral, Fla.) chipped in 12 digs. Setter Alleigh VandeMerkt continued her impressive play, wracking up 30 assists in the setback.  With her 30 assists, she became the second player in Endicott history to eclipse the 3,000 assist mark, doing so as just a junior.

Amherst was led by Maggie Danner (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Marialexis Natsis (Los Angeles, Calif.) who finished with 10 and 8 kills respectively.  Danner's 10 kills (10-5-31) were a match high while Natsis .417 (8-1-17) average was also a match high.  Libero Katie Warshaw (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) led all individuals with 4 digs. 

MATCH ONE: Endicott 0 - Tufts 3

Looking to rebound, the Gulls then took on a Tufts team that entered ranked #9 in the most recent NEWVA poll.  Tufts used a steady offensive attack and a balanced defensive effort to thwart the visiting Gulls, recording seven total blocks to just two for the Gulls while also picking up 50 digs to 41.  

Leading the way in the setback for Endicott was Morgan yet again as she produced a 8 kills (8-3-25) and a .269 average.  Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge, Wash.) finished second on the team with seven total kils.  Trudon led the defensive effort again with 14 digs while Petruccil and Cydney Pierce (Santa BArbara, Calif.) chipped in with seven digs a piece.  VandeMerkt finished with 19 assists.

Tufts was led by the duo of Hayley Hopper (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Katie Kim (Santa Barbara, Calif.) as each hit a match high 12 kills.  Hopper produced a .207 average (12-6-29) while Kim hit .421 for the match.  Kyra Baum (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) ran an efficient offense that hit .221 for the match as she dished out 31 assists.  Hopper also picked up 10 digs in the match, just one behind Alex Garrett (Allendale, N.J.) who grabbed 11. 

Endicott drops to 11-14 (2-2 CCC) on the season and stays on the road for a Wednesday match at Eastern Nazarene on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.  The Gulls return home Saturday as they play host to CCC foe Curry and North Shore rival Salem State in a tri-match with Endicott playing at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.