Endicott Splits Non-Conference Tri-Match

BOSTON, Mass. - The Endicott women's volleyball team fell to Coast Guard 3-2 before sweeping host Emerson 3-0 to split a non-conference tri-match on Saturday.

The Gulls opened the day with a knock down, drag out five set match against Coast Guard, less than 24 hours after knocking off Brandeis in five at home. The Gulls dropped the first set 25-20 before taking the second and third 25-21 and 25-15 to grab a commanding 2-1 advantage. The Bears would respond with a 25-20 win in the fourth to force a winner take all fifth set. Coast Guard would jump out to an early lead before taking the fifth by a 15-8 final.

In the night cap, the Gulls would sweep Emerson 3-0 to go 2-1 on the weekend. Endicott edged out a 25-23 first set before rolling in the second and third by scores of 25-19 and 25-14 for the third sweep of the season. 

In the first match, freshman Colleen McAvoy (Coventry, Conn.) dominated in the middle, hitting .545 for the match with 14 kills on 22 attempts with only two errors. The middle added six digs and an ace to her performance. Outsides Alex Dippel (Fallston, Md.) and Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) combined to record 35 kills and 17 digs in the setback. Setter Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) finished with 51 assists and 16 digs, tying her season-high with 51 assists. 

The sweep of Emerson saw the Endicott offense hit for a .322 average, the second highest single match average of the season. The Gulls received stellar performances from middles McAvoy and Nicole Winkler (Southborough, Mass.), as McAvoy recorded a match-best 13 kills while Winkler finished one shy with 12. For McAvoy, her 13 kills came on 21 attempts with two errors for a .545 clip while also notching four assist blocks. Winkler's 12 kills came on match-high .667 average as she was error-free on 18 attempts.

Libero Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) finished with 19 digs in the sweep to give her 36 for the day through eight sets of action. Emma Jutras (Cranston, R.I.) finished third on the team with 11 digs while Nichole Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) finished with nine. Freshman outside Amanda Gilbert (Hopkinton, Mass.) finished with seven kills on 20 attempts as she hit .300 for the match.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is now 4-1 in the all-time series against Emerson, with the lone loss coming back in 1997.
• Freshman Colleen McAvoy is now hitting .427 on the season, best on the team.
• The Gulls and Bears have split the last four meetings between the two programs.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (6-5) will take to the road on Tuesday to take on regional power Tufts at 7 PM, before hosting Wheaton (Mass.) on Thursday and Nichols on Saturday as a part of Endicott's Homecoming Weekend. Coast Guard (12-1) will host NEWMAC foe Mount Holyoke on Tuesday at 7 PM while Emerson (6-4) travels to Babson on Tuesday at 7 PM.