Endicott Falls to #20 Mary Hardin-Baylor 3-1, Defeats Rhodes 3-1 at Berry National Invitational

MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - Playing in day one of the Berry National Invitational, the Endicott women's volleyball team went 1-1 as the Gulls fell to #20 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) 3-1 and defeated Rhodes by an identical score.

In the tournament opener against UMBH, the Gulls went down 2-0 to start, dropping the opening two frames by scores of 25-23 and 25-21, before storming back to claim a close third by a score of 25-22 to close to 2-1. The Cru would then close out the Gulls by claiming the third set 25-15 for the 3-1 win. Against the Cru, Remi Quesnelle (Sunderland, Mass.) set a new career-best mark with 21 kills. Her 21 kill effort came on 51 attempts as she committed just three hitting errors to hit .353 for the match. The senior added five digs and a team-best two aces to her efforts. 

Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) finished with 52 assists and 17 digs for her second double-double of the season, while Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) finished with 27 digs to lead all players. 

In the nightcap, the Gulls were dominant against the Lynx of Rhodes College, posting a 3-1 win. Colleen McAvoy (Coventry, Conn.) led all players with 15 kills and a .462 average. Quesnelle was close behind, finishing with 12 kills and a .435 average, while Amanda Gilbert (Hopkinton, Mass.) posted 12 kills and nine digs. Mackenzie Kennedy again led the team with 21 digs in the four sets of play as Gifford was second with 15 digs to go with 51 assists.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORES

• Quesnelle's 21 kills tied for the 10th most kills in a four-set match in program history.
• This was the first meeting between the two programs and is the first of three matches against AVCA nationally-ranked opponents for the Gulls this weekend. Endicott will also play #9 Berry and #14 Christopher Newport. 
• Colleen McAvoy produced her second 11 kill effort of the season while posting a season-best five blocks against Mary Hardin-Baylor.
• Nicole Winkler (Southborough, Mass.) finished with 11 kills and a .409 average in the win over Rhodes, each of which marked the second-best performance of the season for the junior.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott now turns their attention to a tough schedule on Saturday in which the Gulls will talk on #14 Christopher Newport at 11:00 AM, and #9 Berry at 1:00 PM.

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)