Gifford, Kennedy Earn AVCA All-American Honorable Mention Accolades

BEVERLY, Mass.  — For the second straight season, the Endicott women's volleyball team has placed multiple student-athletes on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Honorable Mention list as Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) and Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) both received postseason honors for the third time this season on Tuesday.

Gifford is now a two time All-American Honorable Mention award winner, while Kennedy claimed her first career honor. 

Kennedy also is the fourth student-athlete in program history to receive this award as she joins Gifford, Emma Mancini '19 (Lynnfield, Mass), and Tori McIntyre '17 (San Diego, Calif.) on the list. 

Meanwhile, this past season, the senior stars, Gifford and Kennedy, helped the Gulls win their third Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship in the last four seasons. This year's campaign was highlighted by an unblemished record in conference play (8-0) and a 3-0 win over then-No. 14 Christopher Newport, which marked the highest nationally ranked opponent the Gulls have ever beaten. 

ZOEY GIFFORD | SR. | SETTER

Gifford, who received CCC Player of the Year and All-CCC First Team honors for the second year in a row earlier this fall, currently sits third all-time in program history in career assists with 3,533.

For the season, Gifford averaged 9.72 assists/set (1,030 total), 2.88 digs/set (305), 0.55 kills/set (55), 0.32 aces/set (34), and 0.16 blocks per set (17) in 31 matches played (106 sets).

Gifford finished the year ranked first overall in the CCC in both assists per set and total assists, and is currently positioned No. 37 and No. 45 nationally in the aforementioned categories.

Along with those rankings, Gifford also paced the team in double-doubles with 15 total, posted a career-high 53 assists versus Emerson in a four-set win, and notched 50 or more assists in a match three times in 2019. 

MACKENZIE KENNEDY | SR. | LIBERO

Kennedy, who also claimed CCC Libero of the Year and All-CCC First Team honors for the second straight season, is now the first libero in program history to earn AVCA All-America honorable mention accolades.

Earlier this season, Kennedy also became the first libero in program history to win back-to-back CCC Libero of the Year awards, and the first libero to receive AVCA All-Region honors.

Meanwhile, this past season, Kennedy averaged 5.50 digs/set (583) and .62 assists/set (66) in 30 matches played (106 sets.). Kennedy recorded a season-high 31 digs versus Amherst in a five-set win, and registered 25 or more digs in five sets this fall. Her career-high for digs in a match is 33, which she set in a 3-1 win over Wesleyan (Conn.) on September 29, 2018.

Kennedy ranks seventh all-time in digs with 1,484 and is positioned fifth all-time in digs per set with a 3.88 average. Her 5.50 digs/set is also good for second all-time in a single-season in program history, while her 583 digs this season ranks sixth all-time. Among CCC liberos this past year, Kennedy led the league in digs per set and total digs. She also is ranked No. 48 in total digs and No. 52 in digs per set, nationally. 

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(Photo Credit - Nick Grace '20)