Gulls Dominate Both Matches as VandeMerkt Eclipses 1,000 Assists on the Season

SALEM, Mass.- In two matches against MASCAC schools, Endicott dominated the competition sweeping both MCLA and Salem State 3-0 to improve to 17-12 on the season.  Endicott opened the tri-match by taking down MCLA before closing with the sweep over North Shore rival Salem State.  The team has now completed their part of the North Shore Cup as they defeated both Gordon and Salem State on the season.

Match 1: Endicott 3 MCLA 0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-8)

In the quick three set match over MCLA, Endicott scored 41 points while limiting their opponent to just 16.  Endicott registered 34 kills to MCLA's 15, while only committing nine hitting errors to MCLA's 18.  Endicott held the advantage in hitting percentage by a large margin as the Gulls hit .316 to -.043.  Both teams picked up 31 digs while the Blue and Green recorded seven aces and 29 assists.

Leading Endicott offensively were senior Callie Dolan (Westford, Mass.) and sophomore Mackenzie Guerre (Carlsbad, Calif.).  Dolan put up a team high 12 kills on 26 attempts while Guerre finished with 11 on 15 errorless swings.  Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) continued to build on her impressive season as the led the team with 27 assists.  Freshman Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) kept her double digit dig streak alive as she tallied 11 in the three sets.

Match 2: Endicott 3 Salem State 0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-12)

The night cap saw more of the same as the Gulls controlled the match from the very start.  Setter Alleigh VandeMerkt registered another 21 assists in the match as she eclipsed the 1,000 assist mark on the season.  With her performance against Salem State, VandeMerkt now sits at 1,006 in 2013, good enough for 6th place on the all-time single season list.  

Endicott received solid performances offensively from Guerre out of the middle and Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) on the outside.  Guerre picked up another seven kills on just twelve swings with only one error to finish the day with a line of 18-1-27, good enough for a .630 average.  McIntyre finished the match with three kills on just eight swings while also picking up 10 digs and three blocks.  Trudon again led the defense with 11 digs, extending her streak of double digit digs to 12 matches.

Endicott, now 17-12, is now off until next Saturday when they will play host to another tri-match.  CCC foe Western New England comes to town with formidable WPI as well.  Callie Dolan currently sits at 991 career kills and will look to break the 1,000 kill mark next weekend.