BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team hosted day one of their annual invitational as the Gulls took on New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) opponent Daniel Webster for the second time this season. After sweeping the Eagles in the season opener in early February, the Gulls needed five sets to upend their league rivals 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11) to improve to 9-4 (5-1 NECC) on the season.
Endicott rallied from two points down (19-17) late in the fourth set by winning four straight points to take a 21-19 lead and hanging on for the 25-23 win to force a fifth set. In the deciding fifth set, Endicott senior middle Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.) struck four kills on four attempts and recorded a block to help deliver the Gulls victory. Netherton finished with 11 kills and a .386 hitting percentage with four block assists. Gulls sophomore middle Alex Wasik (Milford, Mass.) was an efficient presence at the net as well, totaling nine kills on a .533 hitting percentage with three block assists.
Endicott's kill leader in the match was sophomore outside John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) who struck 15 kills and provided critical defense with eight digs and four total blocks, including one solo stuff. Senior Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) matched Netherton with 11 kills on the outside while his one solo and two assisted blocks were part of 11 team blocks on the day.
The Gulls were able to survive a 23-kill, six-dig match from Daniel Webster junior Joel Hendrix (Kane'ohe, Hawaii) and a match-high 48 assists from sophomore setter Ariel Frias (Lawrence, mass.), one better than his Endicott counterpart Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y.). Eagles senior Joe Walz (East Longmeadow, Mass.) turned in .300 attacking clip from the outside hitter position as he finished with 12 kills.
Daniel Webster had nine team blocks in the loss with sophomore middle Jose Vargas (Lawrence, Mass.) leading the way with two solo and two assisted blocks to go along with his nine kills on offense. Sophomore Ryan Howdeshell (Fairbanks, Alaska) led the team with nine digs.
On the home side, Endicott senior libero Aaron Jessee (Okinawa, Japan) had a match-high 15 digs with a perfect receive percentage on 46 attempts. Fellow senior Josh Anderson (La Canada, Calif.) added a career-high 13 digs with three blocks in the win.
On day two of the Endicott Invitational, Endicott faces off with Skyline Conference opponent Sage (2-12) who dropped a three-set match to #5 Rivier on day one. That match starts at 11:00 am. At 1:00 pm, the Gulls take on Rivier (14-3) for the second time this season, having lost to the Raiders 3-0 back on February 2nd when they were ranked eighth in NCAA Division III.
Endicott Invitational Day One Scores
#5 Rivier def. Sage, 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-13)
Endicott def. Daniel Webster, 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11)
Ramapo def. Emmanuel (Mass.), 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21)
Endicott Invitational Day Two Schedule
Endicott vs Sage, 11:00 AM
#5 Rivier vs Ramapo, 11:00 AM
Emmanuel (Mass.) vs Daniel Webster, 11:00 AM
Endicott vs #5 Rivier, 1:00 PM
Emmanuel (Mass.) vs Sage, 1:00 PM
Daniel Webster vs Ramapo, 1:00 PM
