Women's Volleyball Drops Two Hard-Fought Matches On Final Day Of MIT Invitational

BEVERLY, Mass. – Competing in day two of the MIT Invitational, the Endicott women's volleyball team dropped a pair of hard-fought matches with a 3-2 setback to Wellesley and a 3-1 loss to Scranton. The Gulls finish the MIT Invitational with a 1-3 record and finished tied for 8th, while their overall record falls to 6-3 on the young season. 

MATCH ONE: Wellesley 3, Endicott 2 (15-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-21, 19-17)

Wellesley rallied from a 2-0 deficit in match one of the day to turn away the Gulls in a five-set thriller.

Endicott junior Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) led the offensive attack as she put down a team high 12 kills on 41 swings to hit at a .244 clip. The versatile outside also showcased her defensive prowess, adding 10 digs and three assist blocks in the setback.

Former Rancho Bernardo High School teammate Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.) finished with a team high .333 average as she picked up seven kills on 21 error-free swings from the right side to assist in the offense as the Gulls actually out-hit the Blue .222 to .123 in the match. 

Setters Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) and Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) combined to dish out 36 assists as VandeMerkt led the way with 19. Both setters played solid defense as well, combining for 20 digs as Clotfelter led with 12.

Middles Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) produced solid efforts with Sugrue leading the Endicott block with two solos and six assists and Knapp pitching in with eight kills and two assist blocks.

BEYOND THE BOX

• With the win, Wellesley avenges a five set loss in 2014 that gave the Gulls their first win in the series since 2011. Endicott is now 2-10 all-time against Wellesley.
• Sophomore Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) compiled 22 digs in the loss. She now has 20 or more digs in three matches this season.
• Endicott is 4-1 overall on the year when leading after the first two sets.

MATCH TWO: Scranton 3, Endicott 1 (25-15, 27-25, 20-25, 25-19)

Scranton held off a late comeback bid by Endicott from the second set on to improve to 9-2 overall on the season.

McIntyre paced the offense once again in match two of the day with 18 kills on 40 attempts for a .425 hitting percentage. McIntyre also added three service aces, five digs and one block assist in the loss.

VandeMerkt notched her second double-double of the season with 24 assists and 12 digs, while Pierce tallied 20 digs and Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) put home seven swings to highlight the rest of the match for the Gulls.

BEYOND THE BOX

• VandeMerkt dished out 20 or more assists for the sixth time this season
• McIntyre currently has ten or more kills in five straight matches, the longest stretch of her career.
• Last season, McIntyre recorded ten or putaways in four straight matches on two separate occasions on the year.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (6-3) visits UMass Boston on Wednesday, September 16 for a non-conference matchup at 6 p.m. 

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