2004 Season Wrap-Up

The Endicott women's volleyball team took a major step forward this season in their continued climb to the top of New England Division III volleyball. The Gulls set new team records going 9-0 in the CCC regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs to claim their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship. They also reeled off 22 straight wins and finished the season with a 29-7 record setting new records for consecutive wins, wins in a season and season winning percentage (.805). The 2004 season also saw the team's first out of region trip (five days in Chicago, IL), their first regional ranking on the NCAA regional poll at \#4 (there are 70+ programs in New England) and the Gulls claimed the Springfield College Tom Hay Invitational Championship where they defeated Springfield College, who was ranked as high as 23rd in the nation, for the first time.

In addition to the team strides, individual honors also followed the team success. As well as their many CCC weekly honors, the Gulls also placed five players on All-Conference teams; Meghan Hall and Sara Moore were named to the first team, Killeen Ross and Morgan Tranquist earned second team honors and Susan Teta was named to the third team. Meghan Hall was also named CCC Rookie of the Year, Morgan Tranquist was named Senior Scholar Athlete and Head Coach Tim Byram was named CCC Coach of the Year.

Additionally, Sara Moore and Meghan Hall became the first players in the program's history to earn All-New England Honors. Both players were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-New England Third Team. Each of them achieved record breaking seasons which included Moore setting the school record for kills in a season with 357 and hitting percentage at .355 while Hall set the record for assists in a season with 1,141 and assists per game at 9.67.

Endicott will lose five players to Graduation this spring. Kristen Altieri, Katie Lorinovich, Krystan Sylva, Susan Teta and Morgan Tranquist were all part of Coach Byram's first recruiting class four years ago. Over their four seasons, they helped take EC from a middle of the pack program to one of the elite programs in New England. During their four years, they accumulated a 71-60 overall record while going 26-9 in CCC play. They also made three straight CCC Semifinal appearances (2001-2003) before claiming the team's first CCC Championship Title this season. The 2004 CCC Championship qualified the team for their first postseason appearance in the NCAA Tournament where they were 1 of 48 teams competing for the National Championship.

Having tasted the Championship flavor, the returning players are now looking to defend their CCC Title and make a return trip to the postseason in 2005. Juniors, Killeen Ross and Patty Mikan are working hard to prepare for their senior year. Sophomores, Sara Moore and Katelyn Smith now have another valuable season of experience to draw from and freshmen Meghan Hall, Kim Marschner and Rosa Amorim will be working hard to keep their undefeated streak alive in CCC Play.

We would also like to once again thank all of our fans for the support they have shown following the team all over New England this season!

Go Gulls!!