Gulls Split Pair of Matches on Day One Of Endicott Invitational

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BEVERLY, Mass.-  Endicott saw their record move to 2-1 on the season following a three set setback to the Beavers of Babson and a three set sweep of the Panthers from Plymouth State.  The Gulls now play host to UMass Boston and Bowdoin at 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, day two of the Endicott Invitational.

MATCH 1- Endicott 0 Babson 3 

BEVERLY, Mass.-  Looking to start off their invitational on the right foot, the Gulls were clipped by the Beavers of Babson 3-0 in three tightly contested sets.  For the Gulls, they dropped to 1-1 on the young season while Babson improved their record to 3-2.   

Endicott would struggle offensively throughout the course of the match as they would manage to hit just .083 combined in the match. In comparison, the Beavers were only able to hit .184 for the match but it would prove to be enough as they would edge out the three set win 25-22, 27-25, 25-23.  Offensively, Endicott was led by freshman Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge, Wash.) who put forth a nine kill effort on 20 swings while hitting .300.  Babson countered with junior outside Mary Donahue (Braintree, Mass.) who collected a match high 10 kills on 20 error free swings to hit .500 for the match. Close on her heels was sophomore Lorraine Mackiewicz (Edison, N.J.) who picked up eight kills with just one error on 21 attempts to hit .333 for the contest.   

Endicott libero Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.), the reigning ECAC DIII New England Libero of the Week continued her impressive start to the season as she collected a match high 17 digs, good for a 5.4/set average.  Sophomore outside Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) was close behind with 12 digs of her own to pair with six kills in the loss.  Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) notched a match high 25 assists in the losing effort to put her at 68 through two matches. 

Babson was led defensively by senior libero Kseniya Pulido (Upland, Calif.) who recorded a team high 15 digs in the win.  Both Angela Price (Medway, Mass.) and Brianna San Diego (Daly City, Calif.) would chip win with eight of their own as Price also picked up six assists and two aces.  Setter Krissy Robertson (Dedham, Mass.) totaled 23 assists and eight digs in the win to lead the Beaver offense. 

Endicott now moves on to face Plymouth State in the second match of the Endicott Invitational with UMass Boston and Bowdoin on the horizon tomorrow.  Babson advances to take on UMass Boston in their second contest this evening before squaring off against Roger Williams and Plymouth State tomorrow. 

MATCH 2- Endicott 3 Plymouth State 0 

With a quick turnaround from their previous defeat, Endicott took advantage of a solid offensive performance to take down Plymouth State via a three set sweep.  With the win, Endicott got back above .500 as they improved to 2-1 while Plymouth State suffered their second setback of the day to fall to 0-2.   

In the first set, the Gulls used an Erika Trudon service run in the middle of the set to pull away and gain a comfortable cushion before collecting a 25-20 win.  The sophomore libero recorded an ace and eight digs in the opening frame to go along with a five point serving run to grow the lead from 14-10 18-11 by the end.  The Gulls also received stellar offensive performances in the first set from sophomore middle Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) and Elise Morgan (Holbrook, N.H.) as the duo combined for six kills on 13 errorless swings.  Endicott also took advantage of aggressive serving as they recorded four kills off of overpasses in the frame. 

The Gulls would then go on to put on an impressive performance in the second, winning 25-14 due evenly to the fact that they hit .296 and also limited the Panthers to a -.107 line.  The second set saw Tori McIntyre step up and put on a dominating performance along with Hayley Knapp.  The California duo combined for a 8-0-12 (.750) line to lead the Endicott offense and provide setter Alleigh VandeMerkt with 10 more assists.  The Gulls also recorded three aces and 13 digs as a unit, with three players recording three digs. 

Endicott would come out strong again in the third and would ride the momentum from their second set win to clinch the match with a 25-19 win.  Morgan again was impressive, recording just two kills on three swings while VandeMerkt again posted 10 assists.  Trudon led the defensive effort with five digs as Knapp recorded a set high four kills.  Senior captain Jessica Petruicci (Cape Coral, Fla.) continued her strong serving performance as she notched two of her team high three aces in the third set.   

For the match, Endicott was led at the net by Knapp and McIntyre who recorded 10 kills each.  VandeMerkt tallied 26 assists to go along with 8 digs as she barely missed out on the double–double.  Trudon was dominant defensively, recording another 16 digs to see her enter Saturday's play averaging 5.82 digs/set.  

The Panthers were led by setter Kirsten Perrotta (Hudson, N.H.) who put forth a fantastic all-around effort in the setback.  The junior led the team with three kills and nine assists in the opening set before eventually finishing with a near triple-double as she posted six kills, 20 assists and 14 digs on the evening.  Senior Jana Nieman (Fair Lawn, N.J.) was also impressive as she logged six kills and two aces on the match.  The Panthers' libero, Brenna Peruch (Cave Creek, Ariz.) provided as much help as she could for her team as she picked up a match high 18 digs in the loss.   

With the win, Endicott improves to 2-1 and now looks to a tough double-header on Saturday as they play host to regional powers UMass Boston and Bowdoin.  The Gulls defeated UMass in their only matchup in 2013, winning 3-1 on hostile ground.  The Beacons would then go on to win the NCAA New England Regional and advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals later in the season.  Bowdoin was able to take down Endicott 3-0 last season in the only matchup between the two programs.  Plymouth State, who falls to 0-2, now looks to Saturday when they will take on SUNY Canton and Babson at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.