Gulls Sweep Beacons, 3-0
Sept. 5, 2007
BEVERLY, MA - The Endicott College women's volleyball team upped their record to 3-1 as they downed UMass-Boston, 3-0, tonight at the MacDonald Gymnasium in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Game one featured Endicott jumping out to a quick 3-0 advantage, as they capitalized on back-to-back Beacon errors. Following a UMass-Boston point, the Gulls rattled off the next three scores to put the Blue and Green up 6-1. Following a Beacons' timeout, the two teams exchanged points with Endicott holding onto their five point advantage, at 11-6. Endicott continued applying pressure throughout the opening frame, building a game one lead of 23-11. UMass-Boston freshman outside hitter Karly Sanchez (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) did her best to keep the Beacons close, however the Gulls were too strong in game one, taking the first contest 30-19.
Endicott kept the momentum going into game two, as the Gulls rattled off thee of the first four points, including an impressive kill from sophomore Steph Wiese (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth). The Beacons responded to the early Endicott push as Alessandra Adamo (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) buried a score at the UMB net, pulling the visitors within two. The lead would stay at two midway through the second game, only to have EC score three-straight, building their advantage to 20-15. Each team traded points for the next several minutes, as Karly Sanchez nailed consecutive service aces to help pull the Beacons back within striking distance at 29-28. Endicott was able to regroup as freshman Brittany Phillips (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln Sudbury) notched the final score on a nice hit from the far side, securing the 32-30 win.
An early 5-3 Endicott lead in game three was quickly erased as UMass-Boston's Karly Sanchez served the Beacons to a 6-5 advantage. The Blue and Green regained the lead on a strong solo block by Hayley Janelle (Madbury, NH/Oyster River), putting EC back on top. The seesaw affair continued until the midpoint of game three as the Gulls slowly built a three-point lead. Freshman Amy Grigg (Vernon, CT/Rockville) and senior Beth Dow (Pocasset, MA/Bourne) combined for a big block upfront, putting the Gulls up 15-12. The Commonwealth Coast Conference Libero of the Week Brittany Nolan (Monroe, CT/Masuk) used a strong string of serving to extend the Endicott lead to seven. That margin was all the Gulls would need as they completed the sweep, 30-16.
UMass-Boston was led sophomore Kate White (Plymouth, MA/Plymouth North), as the outside hitter notched 12 kills and 11 digs in the losing effort. Freshman libero Emily Thompson (Wausau, WI/D.C. Everest North) contributed 11 digs while classmate Alexandria Quinn (Brockton, MA/Brockton) handed out 16 assists in two games for the visitors.
Endicott was led up-front by Steph Wiese's 12 kills. Brittany Nolan continued her impressive start of '07 as she compiled 25 digs, while TCCC Player of the Week Meghan Hall (Santa Cruz, CA/Aptos) dished out 29 assists in the win. Freshman Amy Grigg had six blocks for the Gulls.
Next up for UMass-Boston (1-4, 0-0 LEC) is a trip to Brandeis on September 7th. Endicott (3-1, 0-0 TCCC) returns to action on Friday as they host the Endicott Invitational. The two-day event will begin with the Gulls squaring-off with Emmanuel College beginning at 5:00 PM.