Gulls Sweep Tri-Match as Seniors VandeMerkt & Watts Are Celebrated

BEVERLY, Mass.- As the women's volleyball team celebrated two graduating student-athletes in Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) and Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.), the Gulls swept both Eastern Nazarene and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) to improve to 21-9 (6-2 CCC) on the season.

Endicott would dominate the day offensively, hitting at a collective .358 for the day as the women posted a 3-0 sweep of Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe Eastern Nazarene by scores of 25-5, 25-20, 25-6, and then GNAC opponent St. Joseph (Conn.) by scores of 25-17, 25-20, 25-5.

VandeMerkt, a graduate student who graduated with her Bachelor's degree in Finance in just three years and will graduate with her M.B.A. this spring, recorded 37 assists, seven digs, five aces and two kills in the two matches while Watts, a senior Business major with a Hospitality minor, finished with 15 kills on 30 swings to go along with four assist blocks and three assists on the day.

BEYOND THE BOX 

Against the Lions, Endicott hit a season-high .467 in the match as the Gulls combined to hit 41 kills on 75 swings with just six errorrs while holding the visitors to an .043 average and just 16 kills in the three set sweep. The Gulls would then go on to hit .276 against Saint Joseph (Conn.) while holding the Blue Jays to a -.075 average in the win.

VandeMerkt, operating in a 6-2, registered a match-high 19 assists to go along with five aces, five digs and two kills against ENC. VandeMerkt then finished the match against the Blue Jays with a match-high 18 assists.

Her fellow setter in the 6-2, Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) finished with 14 assists against the Lions, good for second best in the match, and two digs. She finished her day with 14 assists and eight digs against St. Joseph (Conn.).

In the conference match, Watts and high school teammate Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) were flawless offensively, as the Rancho Bernardo alumni combined to pick up 17 kills on 33 error-free swings. Watts hit .500 for the match while McIntyre hit .526, good for fourth on the team. The pair then went on to lead the Gulls against the Blue Jays, recording 22 kills with just three errors on 45 swings. McIntyre finished with a match-high 14 kills, three aces and seven digs while Watts added eight kills and two assist blocks in the win.

Against ENC, junior Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.) and sophomore Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), finished the match with identical .571 (5k-1e-7a) lines while Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) finished hitting .545 after posting a line of seven kills, one error on 11 attempts.

FOR THE FOES - EASTERN NAZARENE

Kayla Dean (Lansdale, Pa.) finished with six kills, six digs and six assists, all team-highs. The sophomore ends her season with 100 kills, 161 assists and 199 digs.

Joanna Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) was second on the team with four kills and led the Lions at the net defensively as the middle picked up two solo blocks and an assist block on the day.

Libero Oksana DiCamillo (Nottingham Township, Pa.) ended her season with 275 digs after posting five against the Gulls.

FOR THE FOES - SAINT JOSEPH (CONN.)

Tiffany Mapusaga (Waianae, Hi.) finished with five kills on 21 swings to go along with 17 digs, a match-high.

Setter Kara Klimaszewski (Naugatuck, Conn.) ended the match with a team-best 17 assists to finish her freshman season with 121.

Emily Vigue (Lebanon, Conn.) finished with a team-high seven kills on 28 swings to go along with six digs in the setback.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott, who has received the #3 seed in the upcoming CCC tournament, moves on to postseason play when they host #6 UNE in CCC Quarterfinal action on Tuesday, November 3, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Nazarene ends its season with a 3-26 record overall while the Blue Jays, currently 12-15, await the seedings for the upcoming GNAC tournament.