Knapp And Sugrue Lead Gulls In 3-0 Win Over Vikings In North Shore Cup Action

SALEM, Mass. - Behind near perfect performances from juniors Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) and Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.), the Endicott women's volleyball team extended their win streak to nine straight over Salem State as the Gulls improved to 10-5 overall on the season. 

Knapp posted six kills on eight error-free swings on the night to hit at a .750 clip while also adding two aces, two digs and one assist. Matching Knapp's .750 average on the evening was Sugrue who picked up three kills on four swings, while also recording the team's lone solo block on the night.

Setters Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.), Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) and Staci Sonke (Bishop, Calif.) combined to record 23 assists in the sweep, with VandeMerkt leading with nine. Sonke, making her collegiate debut, registered six assists and one dig while Clotfelter picked up eight assists and five digs.

Junior outside Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) picked up a team-high seven kills and three aces to go along with five digs as she led the pin hitters on the night.

BEYOND THE BOX

• With her .750 performance on the night, Knapp is now hitting a team-high .307 on the season, .068 points higher than her career average.
• Reigning CCC and ECAC DIII New England Libero of the Week Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) posted nine digs, bringing her season total to 243, just 54 shy of her freshman season total of 297.
• The Gulls have now swept the Vikings in nine straight meetings as Endicott has not lost to Salem State since 2001 when the Gulls fell in five.
• The sweep now gives Endicott six on the season, half of the total the team posted during the 2014 campaign.

FOR THE FOES

• Salem State was led by Kaleena Kara (Douglas, Mass.) as the freshman recorded seven kills in the setback. It was the highest kill total by a Viking player since Jazmin Santos' ('14) 11 kill performance in 2013.
• Setter Mackenzie Salls (Turner Falls, Mass.) recorded 18 assists in the loss to extend her double-digit assist streak to eight.
• Senior Emily Peay (Lebanon, Conn.) posted nine digs, which ties for her fourth best defensive performance on the year.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott returns home on Saturday to host Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe Wentworth at 11:00 a.m. to kick off three straight conference matches as the Gulls travel to Curry mid-week before returning home on Saturday, October 3 to host Roger Williams on Homecoming in a rematch of last year's CCC Semifinal that saw RWU edge Endicott 3-2. Salem State (2-7) plays host to Bridgewater State and Norwich on Saturday in a tri-match. 

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