BEVERLY, Mass. – On day two of the Endicott Invitational, the Endicott men's volleyball team split a pair of non-conference matches against Skyline Conference opponent Sage and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival and the nation's #5-ranked Rivier Raiders. The Gulls swept Sage 3-0 (25-22, 29-27, 27-25) but lost to Rivier in four sets (25-20, 27-25, 23-25, 25-13).
Endicott (10-5) finishes their invitational 2-1 overall and saw senior setter Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y.) get named to the All-Tournament Team. Roche, in three matches, averaged 10.7 assists per set with a total of 129 assists.
Endicott (10-5) will have a week of practice before traveling to UC Santa Cruz for the Slug Slam Invitational on Saturday, March 15th and Sunday, March 16th. Endicott takes on #8 UC Santa Cruz twice and plays Rivier for the third time this season over the weekend.
Endicott 3, Sage 0 (25-22, 29-27, 27-25)
Gulls sophomore outside hitter Josh Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) totaled a season-high .444 hitting percentage as he struck 14 kills on 27 attempts to lead the Gulls in their tightly-contested three-set sweep of Sage. Senior middle Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.) and senior outside Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) added 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as Endicott improved to 10-4 with the win.
Roche dished out 40 assists with 11 digs and two block assists on the defensive side of the net. Netherton was a presence on the block as well, totaling one solo and three block assists in the match. Senior libero Aaron Jessee (Okinawa, Japan) and senior right side Josh Anderson (La Canada, Calif.) each had eight digs with junior defensive specialist Tyler Bacon (Cypress, Calif.) added six digs.
Sage (2-14) was led by a match-high 20 kills from All-Tournament honoree, senior outside hitter Dylan Krowicki (Little Falls, N.Y.), who also registered seven digs, two aces, and two blocks. Zach Sullivan (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) and Connor Thompson (Delmar, N.Y.) both struck six kills apiece in the loss.
#5 Rivier 3, Endicott 1 (25-20, 27-25, 23-25, 25-13)
Playing Rivier for the second time this season, Endicott dropped the first sets to the Raiders before finally taking a set from their nationally-ranked opponents. The Gulls came up short in the fourth as Rivier rolled to a 25-13 fourth set victory to take the match.
All-Tournament senior middle Aaron Almario (Alhambra, Calif.) was limited to six kills but did his part defensively with a team-high five block assists. The Raiders were led by Terence Matatall (Danville, N.H.) and Chris Markuson (Cupertino, Calif.) who amassed 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while three of Markuson's four service aces came in the fourth set. Markuson also totaled 10 digs for the visitors.
For the Gulls, Osborne once again led Endicott on the attack with 16 kills and chipped in defensively with 10 digs and two block assists. One of Endicott's high-impact players on defense was Coniglione who had seven block assists and now averages 1.07 per set on the season. Jessee was also a factor with 14 digs.
Netherton, Anderson, Coniglione, and sophomore middle Alex Wasik (Milford, Mass.) all factored in offensively with single digits kills.
All-Tournament Team
#20 Joe Walz (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) - Sr., OH
#10 Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y./Smithtown East) - Jr., S
#10 Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) - Sr., S
#13 Ahjon Petty (Piscataway, N.J./Washington Twp.) - Fr., OPP/MB
#10 Aaron Almario (Alhambra, Calif./Cathedral) - Sr., MH
#10 Dylan Krowicki (Little Falls, N.Y./Little Falls) - Sr., OH
Endicott Invitational Day Two Scores
Endicott def. Sage, 3-0 (25-22, 29-27, 27-25)
Ramapo def. #5 Rivier, 3-2 (16-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13)
Emmanuel (Mass.) def. Daniel Webster, 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-18)
#5 Rivier def. Endicott, 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 23-25, 25-13)
Emmanuel (Mass.) def. Sage, (25-20, 25-16, 25-13)
Ramapo def. Daniel Webster, (25-20, 25-17, 25-22)
