Jan. 19, 2004
The Gulls traveled to Steven's Tech (Hoboken, NJ) this weekend for a tough non-conference trimatch. The team opened the day with a 0 - 3 loss (28-30, 23-30, 22-30) to \#5 NYU in the first meeting between these two programs. In their second match they dropped a 1-3 decision (22-30, 30-28, 28-30, 28-30) to last season's NECVA Champions, \#8 Steven's Tech.
In the first meeting between New York University and Endicott, the Gulls came up short on the scoreboard but put up an impressive effort. Jeremy Fontaine (Jr., Belchertown, MA) led the team with 13 points (12k - 0a - 1b) while Eddie Marchand (Fr., Wakefield, RI) chipped in 12 points (9k - 1a - 2b) in his college debut. Pablo Baez (Sr., Miami, FL) ran the offense well and finished with 34 assists while outside hitters Brandon Ecker (Sr., Metairie, LA) and Eric Hunter (So., Delmar, NY) anchored the defense with 8 and 5 digs respectively.
In a valiant effort to avenge last year's season ending playoff loss to Steven's, Fontaine led the team both offensively (24 kills) and defensively (14 digs). After a sluggish start, EC rallied to play some strong defense and the following three games were each decided by a two-point margin. The team serve receive was controlled by Hunter, Fontaine and libero Craig Steszewski (Sr., Rochester, NY). Baez had 41 assists running the offense.
The challenging early season schedule continues for the Gulls this week, as they will travel to \#10 Roger Williams for a 7:00 PM match on Wednesday and then on Friday to \#1 Springfield College for a 7:30 contest.
GO GULLS!!
