Feb. 25, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College swept its way past the visiting Milwaukee School of Engineering on Monday night, downing the Raiders 30-28, 30-27 and 30-22 in a non-conference men's volleyball contest in Beverly, Massachusetts.
MSOE and Endicott traded blows to begin the match-up. With the score knotted at eight, Bryce Kingsley (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) dropped a perfectly placed shot that Jordan Durant (Honolulu, Hawaii/Maryknool) was unable to return, giving the Raiders a 9-8 lead. The Gulls responded by taking eight of the next 12 points, fighting their way to a 16-13 lead. MSOE pieced together a run of its own, taking four of the next five, capped off with a strong kill by Chris Brandt (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) to tie the game at 17-all. A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) returned to lead to the Gulls' favor as he recorded back-to-back kills, putting the Blue and Green up, 25-22. Following a Raiders' timeout, the visitors combated with consecutive block points en route to a four point streak. An Endicott timeout proved to slow MSOE's momentum, and following a Durant kill, Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y./Penn) ended the game with an ace, 30-28.
The Raiders came out on fire to start game two. Bryce Kingsley secured consecutive kills at the visitor's net, giving MSOE an early 6-2 lead. Endicott began chipping away at the visitor's advantage, and following a kill on the far side from James Sliva (Monroe, Conn./St. Joseph's) and an ace from Ben Foster, the Gulls were back within three, 13-10. Moment's later, Witkofsky and Foster teamed for a big block on a Chris Brandt swing, tying the contest at 17-17. Foster and Witkofsky struck again just minutes later, as the pair combined for another point at the EC net to give Endicott a 22-19 lead. In perhaps the point of the season for the hosts, the Gulls' Ben Foster dove near the end line to save a long shot, allowing Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass./Millis) to pull off an improbable return, finding a hole in the Raiders' front line to put EC up four. From there, Endicott was able to take game two, 30-27.
Similar to game one, the third frame began in see-saw fashion with each team trading points. The Gulls finally created some separation, 12-9, forcing MSOE to burn a timeout. Following the break, Endicott took the next three points and again the Raiders tried to slow the momentum with another timeout. The break in the action did nothing to slow the Gulls, as Endicott exploded to a 22-15 lead in just a matter of minutes. Despite trailing by seven, the visitors refused to go quietly and were able to fight their way back to within four, 24-20. In the end, the Endicott lead proved to be insurmountable as the Gulls were able to take game three, 30-22.
The Milwaukee School of Engineering was led by Bryce Kingsley's 12 kills. Freshman defensive specialist Marcus Traber (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) posted 16 digs while classmate Chris Reininger (St. Louis, Mo./St. Mary's) had seven kills on just 10 attempts in the loss.
Endicott was led by A.J. Witkofsky and his 13 kills and nine blocks. James Sliva also chipped in seven kills while Dan Coleman registered 17 digs. Ben Foster posted 36 assists, four aces and seven blocks in the winning effort.
With the win, Endicott improves to 8-7 overall (4-2 NECVA) while MSOE falls to 5-11 (3-4 M-III VC). The Gulls return to action on Wednesday as they step back into NECVA play against Emmanuel College (Mass.). Match time is slated for 7:30 in Beverly, Massachusetts.
