Gulls take a pair on day one of Endicott Invitational

Posted: Feb 14, 2009

Feb. 14, 2009

Box Score - NJCU Match / Box Score - Hunter Match

BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College men's volleyball team notched a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon to open the 2009 Endicott Invitational Tournament in Beverly, Mass. The Gulls swept New Jersey City University 30-28, 30-17 and 30-13, and then defeated Hunter College in four, 30-32, 30-23, 30-21 and 30-24.

In its first match-up of the day, Endicott met the Gothic Knights of NJCU. The visitor's played a scrappy first set, hanging tight with the Gulls for a majority of the opening game. Despite the early pressure, the Gulls fired off a 30-28 win, which eventually sparked easy victories of 30-17 and 30-13 to close out the match.

Sophomore Zeke Kubisch (Bethlehem, N.Y.) posted 12 kills, two aces and three blocks in the win, while A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y.) had 11 kills and four blocks. Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y.) dished out 42 assists to go along with two aces and eight digs. Senior Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass.) was also busy, compiling 19 digs in the sweep.

In the 5:00 p.m. game, Endicott squared-off with Hunter College. The Hawks, who were coming off an afternoon setback to MIT, were able to grab the first game, 32-30. The loss quickly woke the stagnant Gulls, who responded with wins of 30-23, 30-21 and 30-24 to take the match.

A.J. Witkofsky had 21 kills and eight assisted blocks, while also notching 13 digs. John Emery (Westford, Mass.) had 14 kills while both Jordan Durant (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Zeke Kubisch finished the afternoon with 10 kills apiece. Ben Foster had 53 assists and 16 digs and Dan Coleman finished up with 18 digs for the winners. The Gulls posted 17 total team blocks in their win over Hunter.

Endicott returns to action on Sunday afternoon for the second day of the weekend tournament. The Gulls will face SUNY Institute of Technology at 11:00 a.m. and then finish the day with Ramapo College at 3:00 p.m.

Endicott Invitational Results (Day 1)

1:00 PM Games:

Endicott - 3
NJCU - 0
(30-28, 30-17, 30-13)

Ramapo - 3
MIT - 1
(32-34, 30-24, 30-14, 30-25)

Baruch - 3
SUNYIT - 0
(30-20, 30-15, 30-13)

3:00 PM Games:

Rivier - 3
SUNYIT - 0
(30-15, 30-15, 30-16)

MIT - 3
Hunter - 1
(30-26, 26-30, 30-26, 30-28)

NJCU - 3
Emmanuel - 2
(30-27, 27-30, 30-25, 28-30, 15-12)

5:00 PM Games:

Endicott - 3
Hunter - 1
(30-32, 30-23, 30-21, 30-24)

Ramapo - 3
Emmanuel - 1
(30-25, 27-30, 30-21, 30-19)