Endicott Sweeps UNE Behind 34-Assist Night from VandeMerkt

BEVERLY, Mass.-  With both teams entering the match with identical 4-2 records in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play, the Endicott women's volleyball team recorded a commanding 3-0 victory over the visiting Nor'Easters of the University of New England (UNE) to improve to 15-14 overall while UNE drops to 11-14.  The Gulls now have a pivotal match on the horizon as they head to Springfield, Mass. to take on Western New England, a team that currently sits at 18-11 overall and 6-1 in CCC play following a 3-0 loss to Roger Williams this evening.  UNE looks to bounce back as they host Salve Regina, a team that enters with a 16-9 (5-2 CCC) record.

The Endicott block and stellar serving gave the Nor'Easters fits all evening, holding the visitors to just a .032 average (21-18-95) while hitting .293 (38-9-99) themselves.  Endicott held UNE to a .000 hitting percentage in the first and third sets and a .094 average in the second while the Gulls started slow, hitting .152 in the first before hitting .429 and .290 in the remaining two frames.  Endicott recorded 11 aces on the night while committing just four receive errors and also out-blocking UNE by a six to one margin. 

Leading the way for the Gulls was setter Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) who finished with a match high 34 assists and three aces which tied her for the match high.  The junior also contributed six digs and one assist block in the win.  Offensively, Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) was big on the outside all night, finishing with a .320 average after recording a match high 11 kills on 25 swings.  The sophomore completed the double-double by also picking up 11 digs while tying VandeMerkt with three aces.  Fellow sophomore Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) was effective both offensively and defensively as she hit a match high .400 by registering seven kills with one error on 15 attempts to pair with her match high five assist blocks.  Freshman libero Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) dominated defensively in the back row, picking up 23 digs in the three set victory.

The Nor'Easters were led by reigning CCC Player of the Week Grayson Szczepaniak (Lakewood, Ohio) and senior Leah Janelle (Madbury, N.H.) who each finished with seven kills.  The Endicott block keyed in on Szczepaniak, forcing her into a -.036 line (7-8-28) while managing to contain Janelle also, as the senior hit .091 (7-4-33) on the night.  Setter Brooke Gibbons ( Miami, Fla.) dished out 14 assists in the loss as she came one dig shy of a double-double, finishing with nine.  Freshman Teddi Kramer (Nashua, N.H.) led the UNE defense with 11 digs while sophomore libero Nikki Mathewson (Merrimack, N.H.) finished with 10.

With playoff seeding on the line, the Gulls now have a pivotal match on the horizon as they head to Springfield, Mass. to take on Western New England, a team that currently sits at 18-11 overall and 6-1 in CCC play following a 3-0 loss to Roger Williams this evening.  UNE, also looking to improve its standing, aims to bounce back as they host Salve Regina, a team that enters with a 16-9 (5-2 CCC) record.  Both matches are slated to start at 1:00 p.m.