Women's Volleyball Falls to Va. Wesleyan and La Verne on First Day of Leo Invitational

LA VERNE, Calif.-  The Endicott women's volleyball team squared off against Virginia Wesleyan and host La Verne on Friday night in the first night of the Leo Invitational and came up short, dropping both matches by 0-3 scores.  The Gulls fell to 10-10 (2-1 CCC) on the season, as Virginia Wesleyan improved to 17-5, and La Verne to 12-3.  Endicott travels to  Claremont, Calif. on Saturday to take on Whittier and host Pomona-Pitzer at 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. EST (10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. PST).

MATCH ONE:  Endicott 0 - Va. Wesleyan 3

In the first match of their California trip, the Gulls squared off against the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan, a team that is currently 5-1 in ODAC play and 15-5 overall.  Endicott would fall 3-0 by set scores of 16-25, 23-25 and 24-26 in what was the first meeting between the two teams.  The Marlins would use a steady offensive performance to squeak by the Gulls, as Endicott was out-hit .226 - .138 while Virginia Wesleyan recorded 49 kills to 33 for Endicott.

Endicott's defensive efforts would keep the match close as the team recorded 62 digs and eight total blocks in the setback.  Leading the way for Endicott was sophomore Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) as the libero recorded a match high 23 digs.  The 23 digs set a new career high for digs in a three set match for Trudon, edging her previous high of 22 that she set twice last season.  Also standing out in the back row was freshman Cyndey Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverisde, Ill.).  Pierce finished second on the team with eight digs while serving up a match high three aces while VandeMerkt closed the match with seven digs and a team high 27 assists.  The junior setter also matched sophomore Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.) with a match high four assist blocks.

Leading the way offensively for the Gulls was sophomore middle Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.), who finished hitting a match high .476.  Her 13 kills were a team high and second in the match as she pieced together a 13-3-21 line.  Just behind Knapp were outsides Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) and Elise Morgan (Holbrook, Mass.) who put up nine and seven kills respectively.

MATCH TWO:  Endicott 0 - La Verne 3 

The second match of the even saw Endicott take on the hosts in the night cap in front of 300 rowdy fans at the Sports Pavilion as the Gulls would come out on the wrong end of a 0-3 decision.  The hosts were able to sweep by set scores of 15-25, 19-25 and 19-25 to improve to 2-0 all-time against Endicott, the first meeting being a four set victory for the Leopards.  La Verne would post a .255 hitting percentage to .125 for the Gulls and hold the edge in blocks by a seven to three margin.

Leading the offensive performance for the Gulls were the middle tandem of Knapp and Sugrue as each posted hitting percentages over .300.  Knapp led the way with a 7-2-15 (.333) line while Sugrue was just behind with a 6-2-13 (.308) line of her own.  Sugrue also led the Gulls in blocking and points as she recorded one solo and two assist blocks to give her eight points in the match.  Outsides McIntyre and Morgan recorded seven and five kills in the match while each chipped in with one dig and one assist block.

Trudon again led the defensive efforts, picking up a team high 10 digs in the setback.  VandMerkt came up one dig shy of a double-double in the match, posting 21 assists and nine digs, while Pierce and Jessica Petrucci (Cape Coral, Fla.) each finished with eight digs.

With the losses, the Gulls fell to 10-10 (2-1 CCC) on the season and travel to Claremont, Calif. on Saturday to take on Whittier and host Pomona-Pitzer at 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. EST (10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. PST).