March 5, 2009
Box Score
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College men's volleyball team extended its winning streak to seven straight matches as the Gulls grounded Daniel Webster College, 30-13, 30-18 and 30-22, on Thursday evening in Beverly, Mass. The Gulls have swept six of their last seven matches, dropping just one game during the stretch (a 3-1 win over Emmanuel on Feb. 21).
Junior A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y.) paced the Gulls to an easy first set victory, 30-13, as he powered home seven kills on 11 attempts. Daniel Webster's Ian Catenzaro (Londonderry, N.H.) did all he could to keep the Eagles close, notching four of the visitor's eight kills in the opening frame.
Endicott capitalized on a pair of early errors by DWC in the second set, sprinting out to a 5-1 lead. The Eagles responded with a Steven Frick (Londonderry, N.H.) service run that evened the score at five all, however the Gulls came storming back by notching seven of the next nine points to take a commanding 12-7 lead. The advantage was cushion enough for the hosts, as they cruised to a 30-18 second set win. John Emery (Westford, Mass.) led the Endicott offensive charge in the middle frame, grabbing six kills.
The Endicott dominance continued into the third and final game as the Gulls put together an opening spurt that saw them take an early 7-1 lead. Despite Daniel Webster's attempt to hang around, the Endicott offense was too much for the Eagles to handle as the Gulls secured the NECVA victory with a 30-22 win.
John Emery finished the night with a team-high nine kills on 14 attempts with just one error. James Sliva (Monroe, Conn.) had eight kills and Witkofsky finished with seven. Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y.), donning the No. 17 jersey for the second time in as many matches, dished out 43 assists. As a team, the Gulls compiled 50 digs and eight total team blocks with Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass.) posting 11 digs and Witkofsky leading the block effort with three blocks in just one set played.
Daniel Webster was paced by the individual effort of Ian Catenzaro. The freshman outside had 10 of the Eagle's 25 kills and was the only member of his team with more than five attempts to hit in a positive percentage. Eric Smith (Clay, N.Y.) had 19 assists and Catenzaro had eight digs in the loss.
13th-ranked Endicott (19-7, 12-0 NECVA NE) takes a much welcome weekend break before returning to action on March 10th against Harvard University. Daniel Webster looks to rebound on Saturday as the Eagles host Elms College for a 1:00 p.m. start.
