Women's volleyball releases 2011 schedule

The Endicott women’s volleyball fall schedule has been released and in 2011, the Gulls return to the hard court with championship aspirations. Endicott seeks their seventh conference title match appearance in the past eight years and their first TCCC Championship since the 2008 season. 

2011 Endicott Women’s Volleyball Schedule

The Blue and Green kicked off their 2011 campaign with a road tri-match against a pair of non-conference foes in Wellesley College and Keene State College on September 4^th. Wellesley was tripped up in the NEWMAC semifinals after a straight-set 3-0 loss to Coast Guard, but the Blue have a strong history of success with two NCAA Final Four appearances and five NCAA Regional Championships in nine trips to the tournament. Endicott lost 3-1 to Wellesley at their invitational tournament back on October 15^th, 2010. 

Endicott and Keene State faced off in the final match of the 2010 season in the ECAC Northeast Championship as the Owls bested the Gulls 3-1. Keene State reached the Little East Championship in 2010, looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years, but lost to powerhouse UMass Boston 3-1.

From September 9^th-10^th, Endicott will host their annual invitational with nine teams participating in this year’s two-day tournament. On day one, the Gulls play St. Mary’s University (Minn.) and Middlebury College. St. Mary’s finished 21-10 a season ago and ranked seventh in the NCAA Central Region, but lost in the first round of the MIAC Tournament to College of Saint Benedict 3-1. Middlebury, the champions out of the NESCAC, qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament and beat Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) 3-0 before running into a tough UMass Boston squad.  The Panthers and Gulls played on day one of this same tournament a season ago as Endicott pulled off a thrilling five-set victory.  

On day two of the Endicott Invitational, the Blue and Green face off against Schreiner University (Texas) and Williams College. Schreiner met Endicott at the La Verne Invitational in California last season, taking 3-1 victory over the Gulls, and went on to an 11-17 record. After going 17-13 and reaching the NESCAC semifinals, Williams ended their season eighth in the NCAA New England Region rankings.

Following the Endicott Invitational, the Gulls will compete in two more non-conference invite-only tournaments in the month of September. 

Endicott will travel across the country to Colorado Springs for the Colorado College Invitational from September 16^th-17^th. The Gulls will play host 16^th ranked Colorado College, a 30-win team in 2010 and NCAA Tournament qualifier, as well as Washington University out of St. Louis, Missouri. The top-ranked team on the NCAA West Region at the end of the 2010 season, Colorado fell in straight sets to Randolph-Macon College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Washington, the NCAA Division III Champions in 2003, 2007, and 2009, reached the Final Four a season ago with a 35-4 overall mark. The Bears finished 2010 ranked third in the nation. 

On day two of the Colorado College Invitational, Endicott and the fourth-ranked team out of the Central Region, Concordia Moorehead (Minn.), meet on the hard court. The Cobbers made to the first round of the NCAA Regional Tournament, losing to Whitworth 3-0. Endicott’s second opponent of the day has yet to be announced.

On the weekend of September 23^rd-24^th, the Gulls return to the MIT Invitational where they went undefeated in four matches last year. Specific Endicott opponents and match times have yet to be determined, but the invitational features two nationally ranked squads and four teams placed in the top-10 in the final NCAA New England standings. Springfield College (2), Connecticut College (7), Williams College (8), and Wellesley College (10) made the regional top-10 rankings with Springfield (27) and Frostburg State (29) out of the Midatlantic Region making the national list. Frostburg State reached their NCAA Regional final only to fall to Juniata in three sets. Springfield also made it to their NCAA Regional final as the host institution, but UMass Boston handed the Pride a heart-breaking 3-2 defeat.

On October 6^th at Endicott’s MacDonald Gymnasium, the Gulls play host to NCAA Elite Eight qualifier UMass Boston. The Beacons have won 30 games each of the past two seasons and have compiled a 118-45 record under sixth-year head coach Terry Condon. Condon’s Beacons have won the Little East title and qualified for the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. In 2010, UMass Boston rolled past Maine Maritime Academy (W 3-0) and Middlebury College (W 3-1) before edging Springfield College (W 3-2) on their home court to win the NCAA Regional Tournament. Their 2011 campaign ended, however, with a 3-1 loss to Calvin College, the eventually national champion. 

A rematch of the 2010 TCCC Championship match with Roger Williams University will take place on October 15^th at Endicott’s MacDonald Gymnasium. The Gulls suffered two losses to the Hawks last season including a 3-0 loss in the conference title match, the second year in-a-row Roger Williams has ousted Endicott from the tournament. Roger Williams went on to lose in their opening match of the NCAA Regional Tournament, falling to Coast Guard Academy 3-1. The Blue and Green hope to return to their 2003-2008 form, when Endicott went 8-0 against Roger Williams and bounced the Hawks from four conference tournaments. This match also takes place on Homecoming Weekend for Endicott.

Strong to the Finish Line

Over the final two weeks of the regular season, Endicott faces some stiff non-conference opposition with three NESCAC schools and Coast Guard Academy.  At home on October 19^th, the Gulls host Tufts University, a team that qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament and lost to Springfield in the opening round.  Endicott won their first-ever match over the Jumbos in 2010, winning 3-1 on the road.  Endicott travels down to New London, Connecticut on October 22^nd for a tri-match against third and seventh ranked teams in the NCAA New England Region at the end of 2010 in Coast Guard Academy and Connecticut College.  Coast Guard reached the second round of the NCAA Regional Tournament, defeating Roger Williams 3-1 before falling to Stevens Institute of Technology 3-1.  Finally, the Gulls cap off their non-conference schedule with a road match against Bowdoin on October 25^th.  Last season, Endicott needed five sets to take down the Polar Bears at home, avenging two regular season losses to Bowdoin from 2009. 

Live Stats, Live Video and Alerts

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