Gulls Sweep USM To Advance to ECAC Semifinals; Trudon Surpasses 1,000 Career Digs

BEVERLY, Mass.- In their quarterfinal match of the ECAC DIII Volleyball New England Championships, #4 Endicott was able to sweep the Huskies of the #5 University of Southern Maine (USM) to advance to the semifinals on Saturday, November 15 where they will play host Western New England.  With the win, the Gulls improve to 17-16 on the season under 15^th year head coach Tim Byram while the Huskies wrap up their 2014 campaign at 18-14 under first year head coach Diane Newell. 

Endicott was able to sweep the visitors by set scores of 25-12, 25-20 and 25-16 in the first ever meeting between the two programs.  For Endicott, this trip to the ECAC semifinal round will be the second consecutive year in the semifinals as they fell to Western New England 3-0 in 2013.  For Southern Maine, this trip to the ECAC quarterfinals marked the first time in program history the team has received an ECAC berth as the program looks to take the next step in 2015.

The Gulls were able to capitalize on a strong serving performance in the first set as they served up eight aces as a team.  Sophomore libero Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) and sophomore middle Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) combined for all eight of the aces as Trudon recorded five while Knapp notched three.  Offensively, Elise Morgan (Holbrook, Mass.) carried the team, tallying five kills on nine swings to finish the set as the only Endicott player with more than one kill. 

For the Huskies, a pair of first year players led the way offensively as Monica Raymond (Sanborn, N.H.) and Jessica Williamson (Goffstown, N.H.) each recorded two kills.  Defensively, Mariah Garcia (Brighton, Colo.), Megan Nilson (Granby, Conn.) and Bridget Burns (Warrenville, Ill.) each picked up three digs to tie for the team high in the set.  Libero Demi Ruder (Grand Junction, Colo.) was impressive from the service line, tallying three aces to tie for second highest in the set.

The second set proved to be the closes of the three as the Gulls would pull out a 25-20 decision.  Both teams would pick up the defensive efforts as Endicott edged USM 3.0 to 2.0 in blocks in the second set while each team picked up 16 digs.  The set would come down to the offense as Endicott held an 11 to 8 advantage in kills and a .114 to -.027 advantage in hitting percentage.  Endicott was led by Knapp at the net as the middle hit .300 thanks to a 4-1-10 line.  Setter Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) dished out eight assists in the second to give her 14 through two sets while Trudon and Jessica Petrucci (Cape Coral, Fla.) recorded four digs each.  Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.) led the blocking efforts as she recorded a solo and an assist in the set.

USM was led by Williamson's six kills in the frame while Nilson pitched in six assists to give her 10 through two sets.  Defensively, Nilson and Ruder led the charge with four digs while Jessica Garrett (Las Vegas, Nev.) posted two assist blocks.

The third and final set, a 25-16 win for the Gulls, saw Endicott post their best offensive set of the night as the team hit .256 (13-3-39) while limiting the Huskies to a .053 average.  Morgan and sophomore Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.) recorded three kills without any errors on 14 combined attempts, while Knapp and VandeMerkt each recorded two kills on six combined error-free swings. VandeMerkt added 10 assists and two digs to her line to give her 24 assists and seven digs on the night while Morgan's three kills gave her 10 on the night as the freshman outside hit at a .318 clip (10-3-22).  Trudon, playing in her first action in a few weeks, was solid defensively as she led the match with 14 digs to go along with a match high six aces.  In the process of recording her 14 digs, Trudon eclipsed the 1,000 dig plateau in just her second year of action as she now has 1,011 to date.

Southern Maine saw freshman Jessica Williamson finish with 12 kills on the night on 37 swings.  The outside ends her first year of collegiate volleyball just shy of 500 with 496.  Setter Megan Nilson finished with 17 assists on the night to go along with 10 digs to record her ninth double-double of the year.  Libero Demi Ruder and defensive specialist Bridget Burns each finished with 11 digs on the night to lead the defensive efforts.

Endicott now advances to the semifinals on Saturday, November 15 where they will play host Western New England for the second straight season.  The Gulls are now 17-16 while Southern Maine closes their season with an 18-14 record to give the Huskies back-to-back winning seasons.  Match time for the #4 Endicott and #1 Western New England match will be determined tomorrow and will be updated accordingly on the Endicott site.