Roche aces cap off fifth-set comeback for Endicott volleyball over Daniel Webster

NASHUA, N.H. – In a matchup between the top two teams in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), the Endicott men's volleyball team rallied down two sets to one to defeat fellow conference unbeaten Daniel Webster 3-2 (27-25, 23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-12) on the road to improve to 12-4 (7-0 NECC).

After taking the first set, the Blue and Green came close to losing their first ever NECC regular season match as they gave up the next two sets to the Eagles.  Endicott, however, battled back to tie the match at two sets apiece and in the fifth and deciding set, junior captain Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y.) scored the final two points on service aces to help the Gulls win 15-12. 

Endicott trailed in the fifth set, but four kills by junior middle and NECC Player of the Week Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.) without an error proved to be essential in the Gulls' comeback.  Netherton finished with a team-high 17 kills with a .464 hitting percentage, well above his fourth ranked overall hitting percentage for NCAA DIII (.394). 

Fellow Endicott middle hitter Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) hit .440 for the match with 13 kills on 25 attempts with two errors.  He also led the team with five total blocks, including one solo stop.  Junior right side Josh Anderson (La Canada, Calif.) assisted on four blocks while contributing with seven kills.  Also on the outside, senior Brennan Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) added nine kills and freshman John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) struck seven more with six dig and perfect serve-receive on 28 attempts. 

Dishing out the kills was freshman setter Tyler Bacon (Cypress, Calif.) who tallied 39 helpers while contributing defensively with eight digs and a solo block.  Roche added nine assists. 

Defensive specialists Kristian Catalan (Sudbury, Mass.), Aaron Jessee (Okinawa, Japan), and Stewart Allendorph (Delmar, N.Y.) all played well with a total of 22 digs including a team-high nine from Catalan.

In the first set, the Gulls faced set point at 24-23 but Netherton tied the score and a Daniel Webster attacking error gave Endicott lead at 25-24.  The Eagles would score the next point to tie the set score again, but another clutch kill by Netherton followed by another Daniel Webster error handed Endicott the 27-25 first set win.

Despite leading 17-13 in the second set following a six-point run by Endicott served up by Osborne, Daniel Webster rallied to beat the Gulls 25-23 to tie the match at 1-1.  Eagles sophomore middle Joel Hendrix (Kane'ohe, Hawaii) had two kills at the tail end of the set to lead Daniel Webster.  Hendrix's teammate, junior outside Joe Walz (East Longmeadow, Mass.) was a dominating presence in set three with five of his 18 kills leading the way to a 25-20 victory to give the Eagles a 2-1 set advantage.

Endicott responded with a 25-17 fourth set win as Bacon delivered with 11 assists and Endicott scored seven of the final eight points to capture the set.  During that final run, Bacon had two assists and an ace while Anderson and Coniglione came up with a big block on Walz. 

Hendrix also finished tied with Walz for a match-high 18 kills.  This week's NECC Rookie of the Week, Daniel Webster setter Ariel Frias (Lawrence, Mass.) had 55 assists and 10 digs. 

The Blue and Green will next compete this weekend at their Endicott March Mania Invitational, an eight-team tournament in which the Gulls will face off against NECC rival Elms, Kean, Johnson &  Wales (R.I.), and Emmanuel (Mass.). Action begins on Saturday at 12:00 pm with Elms followed at 4:00 pm with Kean.