Endicott ECAC Champions For The First Time In Program History

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.- For the first time in program history, the Endicott women's volleyball team was crowned ECAC DIII New England Champions. The top seeded Gulls earned the title after posting sweeps of No. 4 Anna Maria and No. 2 MCLA claim their first ECAC title in seven appearances.

The Gulls were led on the day by seniors Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) and Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.). VandeMerkt, who eclipsed the 4,000 career assist plateau in the CCC Tournament, registered back-to-back double-doubles to end her career, posting 21 assists and 10 digs against the AMCats in the semifinals and 23 assists and 12 digs against the Trail Blazers in the championship. For her efforts, VandeMerkt was named Most Outstanding Player of the Championship.

Watts led the offense on the day, posting a team-best 11 kills and .333 clip against Anna Maria to open the tournament before finishing with seven kills and a team-high .287 average in the championship clinching win over MCLA. The California native also added five assist blocks and five digs to round out her performance.

BEYOND THE BOX (ANNA MARIA 25-11, 25-18, 25-19)

• The Gulls defeated the AMCats in the ECAC DIII New England Semifinal match 3-0.
• With the win, Endicott improved to 13-1 all-time against Anna Maria. Endicott has swept Anna Maria in all 13 wins in the series for the Gulls.
• The Gulls out-hit the AMCats .178 to .008 on the match and out-dug the No. 4 seed, 72 to 62. Leading the defensive efforts were Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) and Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) who recorded 18 and 15 digs, respectively.
• Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) was second on the team with a .308 average as the freshman finished with five kills on 13 swings.

FOR THE FOES (ANNA MARIA)

• The AMCats were led offensively by Jessica Goulet (Lawrence, Mass.) who notched a team-high seven kills in the loss.
• Fellow senior Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) led the team with 17 assists, 17 digs and a .300 hitting percentage.
• Libero Caroline Garcia (Springfield, Mass.) finished second on the team with 12 digs.

BEYOND THE BOX (MCLA 25-22, 27-25, 25-16)

• The Gulls defeated the Trailblazers in the ECAC DIII New England Final 3-0 to claim the program's first ever ECAC title.
• With the win, Endicott improved to 7-0 all-time against MCLA. Endicott has swept MCLA in six of the seven meetings all time, with the lone match requiring extra sets coming in a 2002 four set victory.
• Endicott middle Rasa Hamel (Clinton, Conn.) has now made history with two separate programs. Hamel has won ECAC DIII New England Championships in two different sports; as a member of Endicott's women's basketball team in 2013-14 that won their first ever title, and today as a member of the women's volleyball team.
• Outsides Tori McIntyre and Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) combined for 19 kills and 19 digs in the sweep, with McIntyre recording eight kills and 11 digs and Sheehan picking up 11 kills and eight digs.
• Cydney Pierce led the Gulls with 14 digs to finish her sophomore season two shy of 600, with 598. That performance puts her fifth on the all-time single-season record list for Endicott, three shy of fourth place.
• It was the first ECAC title in program history in seven ECAC final appearances. The Gulls had most recently reached the final last season.

FOR THE FOES (MCLA)

• The Trailblazers were led offensively by Allison Clark (San Jose, Calif.) who notched a team-high 11 kills in the loss.
• Sophomore Margaret Allen (Patchogue, N.Y.) led the team with a .455 hitting percentage, finishing with five kills on 11 error-free attempts.
• Setters Courtney Parent (South Deerfield, Mass.) and Beatrice Lechler (Point Lookout, N.Y.) finished with 17 and 10 assists, respectively. 
• Libero Chanielle Enomoto (Wailuku, Hawaii) finished with a match-high 15 digs in the loss.

THAT'S A WRAP

With the win, the Gulls improve to 24-10 on the season after claiming the ECAC DIII New England Championship and appearing in the CCC Semifinals. The 24 wins are the highest since 2010, when the team finished 24-16. The .706 win percentage is the best since the 2004 season that saw the Gulls finish 29-7 (.806). With eight rising seniors back for the 2016 campaign, the Gulls will aim to use this ECAC Championship experience to catapult them back atop the CCC.