Endicott Splits With Wellesley and Geneseo at MIT Invitational

BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott women's volleyball team went 1-1 on Saturday, falling in a five-set thriller to Wellesley and sweeping Geneseo 3-0 on day two of the MIT Invitational. For her efforts on the weekend, sophomore Colleen McAvoy (Coventry, Conn.) was named to the All-Tournament Team.

The day started with a 3-2 setback to Wellesley as the Gulls came up just short in their attempts to rally from a 2-1 deficit. Endicott jumped out to a 1-0 lead, taking the first by a 27-25 score before falling 25-14 and 25-23 to fall behind 2-1. The Gulls then rallied to take the fourth 25-16 before falling 15-12 in the fifth to fall to the Blue 3-2. McAvoy led all players in the match with her .478 hitting percentage (min. 10 attempts) as she totaled 13 kills on 23 swings to go with four blocks and three aces, while libero Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) tied for the match-high with 21 digs. 

In the final match of the tournament, Endicott swept SUNY Geneseo 3-0 by set scores of 25-21, 25-17, 26-24 to move to 6-4 on the season. The Gulls held a 42-32 edge in kills in the match while also finishing with 11 aces to just one for the Knights. Leading the attack was setter Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) who posted a double-double with 31 kills and 12 digs to go with five kills and two aces. Kennedy again led all players with 20 digs while middle Nicole Winkler (Southborough, Mass.) led all players with her .538 average (9-2-13). 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORES

• Gifford's double-double against Geneseo was her fifth of the season as she also posted 44 assists and 10 digs in the setback to Wellesley.
• Carley Gagnon (Goffstown, N.H.) notched eight kills in the win over the Knights, a season-high, while freshman Krystina Schueler (Trumbull, Conn.) finished with four kills on eight error-free attempts.
• Winkler tied her season-high mark of 12 kills in the 3-2 setback to Wellesley, adding four blocks as well.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott starts a four-match road trip on Thursday when the Gulls travel to the Lyons of Wheaton (Mass.) on Thursday at 7:00 PM.

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)