Feb. 17, 2009
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Endicott College men's volleyball team was swept by Springfield College in three sets, 3-0, on Tuesday night in Springfield, Mass. The Gulls dropped to 12-7 (7-0 NECVA) while the Pride, which has been ranked the top-team in the country for the sixth-straight week, improved to 6-6 on the year.
In the opening frame, with the score tied at 10-all, Springfield went on a 7-0 run to take control of the first game. With Mark Ribeiro at the service line, SC opened up a 17-10 lead as it capitalized on four Endicott attack errors. The visitors fought back, cutting the Pride's lead to three at 23-20, after a Pride attack error. However, SC was too strong down the stretch as it used three consecutive kills from Cal Palumbo, Ribeiro, and Jeff Gutmann to win the first game, 30-23.
Endicott battled to a 14-12 lead in the second game after a James Silva (Monroe, Conn.) ace, only to have Springfield answer with a 6-0 run. Once again, the Gulls' errors proved costly as they committed four hitting errors in the stretch, giving Springfield an 18-14 lead. The visitors would not go away as three straight kills, including two from Witkofsky, brought Endicott right back into the match as they trailed by just one, 18-17. From that point on, Springfield's block shut down the Gull attack as Andy Sipe and Ribeiro combined for a pair of double blocks and Sipe added a solo stuff to put SC in control en route to the 30-23 win. Springfield recorded eight team blocks in the frame.
In the third and final game, Springfield lead by as many as 12 as it cruised to the 30-22 victory. The home squad finished with 16 kills in the set and committed just four errors as it finished hitting .364 for the game. Guttmann continued to produce off the bench as he notched four kills in the stanza.
For the visitors, A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y.) registered a match-high 13 kills, while John Emery (Westford, Mass.) and James Silva each finished with five kills. Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y.) dished out 35 assists for the Gulls, while Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass.) added 10 digs. Endicott had trouble with the Pride's serving all night, as it was aced on nine occasions. For the match, the Pride hit .323, while the Gulls were limited to a .126 attack percentage.
Ryan Fredrickson, who finished with a team-best nine kills, registered his 1,000th in the third game as his roll shot down the line landed in. He also added five digs and two blocks in the win. Mark Ribeiro and Alex Harrison each chipped in with eight kills, while Andy Sipe posted nine blocks, including seven block assists. Ribeiro also posted seven digs, four aces, and three blocks in the win. 10 different members of Charlie Sullivan's team recorded at least one kill on the night. Eric Shoemaker and Brad Seislove combined to hand out 40 assists.
The Gulls return to action on Thursday night when they host Newbury College in an important NECVA matchup scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Springfield will play again on Saturday afternoon when it travels to take on No. 10 NYU. First serve is slated for 4:00 pm.
