11th-ranked Gulls pull plug on Chargers, 3-0
April 1, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott men's volleyball team wrapped up its regular season in convincing fashion, downing the University of New Haven, 3-0 (30-18, 30-20, 30-21), on Senior Night in Beverly, Massachusetts. The Gulls, who move to 21-11 overall with the win, have now eclipsed the program's all-time winningest season mark which was set in both 2004 and 2005 (20 wins). New Haven officially ends its season at 4-14.
Seniors Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass.) and Matt Carroll (East Hartford, Conn.) were both on the floor to open the night, as Endicott jumped out to an early 3-0 lead behind New Haven hitting errors. The Gulls' James Sliva (Monroe, Conn.) was able to pace the Endicott offense in the first game, notching five kills on seven attempts with no errors in a 30-18 win. A.J. Witkofsky also helped the hosts to a first set victory, as he had four consecutive service aces during an eight point run for the Blue and Green.
In the second set, New Haven was able to grab its first lead of the night off a kill by Austin Miachalski (Voorheesville, N.Y.) to give the Chargers a 5-4 advantage. The lead would be short lived, however, as Endicott went on a 15-3 run to blow the frame wide open. Jordan Durant (Honolulu, Hawaii) came off the bench and posted five kills and two assisted blocks in the second set 30-20 win.
The third game was much of the same for New Haven, as Endicott swung past the Chargers, 30-21. The Gulls would lead by as many as 11 points during the frame (22-11) before coasting to the 3-0 sweep. Witkofsky continued his impressive play with five kills in the third set.
Witkofsky had a game-high 11 kills while Sliva finished the night with 10. Dan Coleman notched 13 digs and Jeremy Schlosser (Emmaus, Pa.) handed out 19 assists for the hosts.
New Haven got nine kills from Peter Kazlas (Allentown, Pa.) and four kills from both Austin Miachalski and Benjamin Hollies (Rockville, Md.). Ryan Earl (Greenville, N.Y.) notched 16 assists in the losing effort. As a team, UNH swung a -.022 (23 kills, 25 errors on 93 attempts).
Endicott gets set for the NECVA Tournament as the 5th-seeded Gulls will meet 12th-seeded SUNY New Paltz in first round action on Friday evening in Cambridge on the campus of MIT. Match time is slated for 6:00 p.m.