Gulls Hand Nationally Ranked Hawks 1st Loss of 2013

BEVERLY, Mass.- Behind an unbelievable team effort, Endicott was able to down a Roger Williams squad that entered the match riding a 19 match win streak and in possession of the #22 ranking in the most recent AVCA National DIII poll as part of Endicott's 2013 Homecoming Weekend.  The loss is the first for the Hawks, who entered the match 19-0 and ranked #1 in New England.  Endicott, ranked t-14^th in the most recent NEWVA coaches poll, improves to 12-9 on the season and 5-0 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).  Roger Williams sees their record fall to 19-1 overall and 0-1 in CCC action.

Roger Williams grabbed the upper-hand early as they took the first set 25-17 behind a dominant offensive performance.  RWU as a team hit .346 in the opening frame while holding Endicott to a .028 clip.  Krystie Luczynski (Kensington, Conn.), Kristen Boyer (Ephrata, Penn.) and Brittany McMullen (Lancaster, Penn.) all registered three kills in the opening set while the team combined to record three blocks.  The team also picked up 16 team digs with Darian Tredennick (Houston, Texas) leading the way with six.  Mackenzie Guerre (Carlsbad, Calif.) led Endicott with two kills on five error-less swings in the first as the rest of the offense struggled to find their footing.

The second set would see the two squads lock up in a nail biter as Endicott would prevail 26-24.  The Gulls turned their offensive performance around from the first set as they hit at a clip of .241 to RWU's .154.  Callie Dolan (Westford, Mass.) was dominant in the frame as she hit .700 with seven kills on ten swings.  Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) led the defensive effort with four digs in the set as Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) and Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) each chipped in with four digs of their own.

The third set proved to be yet another tight one as RWU would prevail 25-22 to take the 2-1 advantage in the match.  Both offenses struggled again as RWU hit .154 to Endicott's .059. Both teams picked up 25 digs in the set to frustrate the opposition's offense.  Luczynski led the Hawks attack with five kills on 11 swings with no errors.  Elizabeth Flaherty (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) led the team with eight digs in the set.  McIntyre led the Gulls with three kills and six digs in the third. 

The fourth set would be the most dominant for the Gulls as they would post a hitting line of 15-3-52 (.353) to Roger Williams' 10-7-27 (.086) to take the set 25-16 and force a fifth and deciding set.  Endicott produced that line behind a 4-0-5 (.800) line from Guerre and a 5-1-10 (.400) line from Dolan, while VandeMerkt and Trudon picked up six and four digs respectively.  McMullen led RWU with four kills on eight attempts while Luzcynski tallied four digs. 

Endicott would ride that momentum provided from the impressive fourth set win to jump out to an 8-2 lead at the mid-way switch.  The Gulls used three consecutive assist blocks from Jackie Cone (Salem, N.H.) and Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) to provide all the energy they would need the rest of the way.  RWU closed to within four at 12-8 before Endicott used three straight kills from Tori McIntyre to close it out and win 15-10.

Endicott was led by senior outside Callie Dolan who recorded a match high 18 kills on 47 attempts.  Dolan also tallied six digs and three assist blocks in the victory as well as a match high 19.5 points.  Setter Alleigh VandeMerkt's 43 assists led the Gulls and her 20 digs were just one off the team high of 21 that freshman libero Erika Trudon put forth.  VandeMerkt's double-double was matched by McIntyre's double-double of 14 kills and 15 digs.  The freshman also tied Lily Benabou (Medway, Mass.) for the team high in aces with three.  Mackenzie Guerre continued her offensive outburst as she tallied 11 kills on 27 attempts to go with one solo and one assist block.  Knapp and Cone finished the match with five and four assist blocks each.

Roger Williams was led by Krystie Luczynski who hit a match high .353 by totaling 17 kills on 34 attempts with just five errors.  The senior was one dig away from a double-double as she registered nine on the night while also picking up four assist blocks for a team high 19.0 points.  Brittany McMullen was close on her heels as her line of 13-5-25 was good for a .320 clip.  McMullen also was dominant at the net as her one solo block and four assist blocks led the Hawks.  Alexa Armenti's (Dix Hills, N.Y.) 47 assists led Roger Williams as did Sarah McAniff's (Redding, Conn.) 19 digs.

Endicott is now off until Wednesday when they travel to CCC foe Salve Regina for a pivotal matchup of CCC unbeaten.  Roger Williams is also off until Wednesday when they take on CCC opponent Wentworth at home.