NCAA TOURNAMENT: Endicott Bows Out of NCAA Tournament With Loss to Salisbury

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — The Endicott women's volleyball team saw its season come to a close on Thursday afternoon, falling to Salisbury by a 3-0 final. The Endicott Gulls fell by set scores of 25-16, 27-25 and 25-23 to end the season at 22-9, while the Salisbury Gulls improve to 21-8.

Leading the way for the Endicott attack were freshman Kelsey Sanborn (Londonderry, N.H.) and graduate students Colleen McAvoy (Coventry, Conn.) and Amanda Gilbert (Hopkinton, Mass.). Sanborn finished with a team-high 10 kills on 25 error-free swings to hit .400 for the match, while McAvoy was also error-free, finishing with seven kills on 19 attempts while adding an ace and a dig in her final match dawning the Blue and Green. Gilbert, also competing in her final match for the Gulls, posted eight kills and eight digs with the team's lone solo block in the setback.

Setter Lauren McGrath (Franklin, Mass.) finished with a match-high 27 assists to go with her seven digs. Leading the defensive efforts were the trio of Emma Ruel (Duxbury, Mass.), Amelia Beigel (Amherst, Mass.) and Alexandra Tecun (Hawthorne, Calif.) who finished with 18, 11, and 10 digs, respectively. 

Freshman Sophie Breitenbach (Newport, R.I.) finished with six kills and two digs, while Krystina Schueler (Trumbull, Conn.) finished with four kills and a team-best two blocks.

SET ONE

• Endicott never led in the set, but held ties at 2-2, 3-3, and 4-4.
• After the 4-4 tie, Salisbury responded with an 8-3 run (12-7) to force an Endicott timeout.
• McAvoy planted a kill (via McGrath) near the 10-foot line to cut into the Gulls' deficit at 9-7 before the Sea Gulls concluded their 8-3 run with three straight points.
• Schueler ripped a huge swing from the outside to make it 15-10, but Endicott never came within less than four points the rest of the way.
• The Seagulls' largest lead came at the conclusion of the opening set, 25-16 (nine points).
• Gilbert and Sanborn paced Endicott with three kills apiece.
• The Gulls hit .154 (10 kills), while Salisbury's offense produced 17 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.

SET TWO

• The Gulls held several three-point leads early on (4-1, 5-2, 8-5, 9-6), but Salisbury clawed its way back eventually taking a 12-11 lead.
• From the 12-11 mark, the Gulls tied things up on two different occasions (16-16, 17-17) — highlighted by a monster swing from Gilbert at 16-16 — prior to falling behind 23-18, resulting in a timeout.
• Endicott rallied after the break forcing Salisbury to use both of its timeouts (23-20, 23-22) behind a pair of kills from Schueler and Sanborn, respectively.
• After two errors by Salisbury, the Gulls held a slim 24-23 advantage before being outscored 4-1 down the stretch.
• Set two featured 10 ties, highlighted by stalemates at 23-23, 24-24, and 25-25, and three lead changes.
• Gilbert produced a team-high four kills, while Sanborn and Schueler had three each.

SET THREE

• Endicott raced out to a 10-7 lead, forcing Salisbury to take an early timeout.
• After a small run from the Sea Gulls, Endicott manufactured another three-point advantage at 13-10 prior to both teams battling to four different ties (13-13, 16-16, 17-17, 18-18).
• Sanborn highlighted play for the Gulls with two kills during that stretch, including a booming swing to make it 16-14, at the time. 
• At 18-18, Salisbury capitalized on its momentum from working back into the set by taking the next two points out of the 18-18 deadlock.
• Endicott then called a timeout and used it to help manufacture a 22-20 advantage, with one kill by Breitenbach, prior to a timeout from Salisbury.
• The Sea Gulls answered out of their own break with four kills and a service ace to complete the sweep.
• Set three witnessed 12 ties and five lead changes.
• Breitenbach and Sanborn compiled four kills apiece, while McAvoy had three to highlight the Gulls.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• This was the first ever meeting between the two Gulls programs.
• With their 22-9 record to end the season, this senior class of Lauren McGrath, Emily Powell (Nassau, N.Y.), Krystina Schueler and Alexandra Tecun finish their four years having won all three Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) titles they competed for, and produced a cumulative record of 66-26 (.717) for their careers, which included a 25-1 record in CCC regular season play.
• The 22 wins mark the 16th time in program history that Endicott has eclipsed the 20 win plateau, as the Gulls have done so in six of the last seven seasons.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (22-9) bows out of the NCAA DIII Tournament, while Salisbury (21-8) advances to take on the winner of AVCA No. 8 NYU and Westfield St. on Friday at 4:30 PM.

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(Photo Credit - Mazzie Hinsdale '26)