BEVERLY, Mass. – The first-seeded Endicott men's volleyball team defeated fourth-seeded Newbury, 3-0, by scores of 25-7, 25-17, and 25-9 on Thursday night in the semifinal round of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament at MacDonald Gymnasium.
With the win, Endicott (23-3) will host No. 2 seed Elms (18-6) in the NECC Tournament championship match this Saturday at 2 PM. The Gulls will look to capture their sixth straight NECC crown later this weekend. Meanwhile, Newbury sees its 2018 season come to a close at 5-18 overall.
Offensively, in tonight's match, Endicott was led by Donovan Dey (Fairport, N.Y.) and Troy Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) as both student-athletes posted a match-high eight kills. Riorden also added a match-high nine digs, while Dey hit a match-high .636 (min. 10 attempts).
Seth Braquet (Destrehan, La.) and Bryn Lipton (Rockford, Ill.) both chipped in with six kills apiece, while Adam Dake (Victor, N.Y.) and Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) ran the offense via 15 and 13 assists, respectively.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott never trailed in the match (three ties, all in the third set).
- The Gulls limited Newbury to a .086 hitting percentage, their second-worst hitting percentage in a match all season.
- Endicott currently ranks No. 2 in the country among all NCAA Division III programs in opponent hitting percentage.
- The Gulls improved to 33-10 in the all-time series versus Newbury.
- Endicott also extended its winning streak to 17 straight matches (2/9/12 – 4/12/18) against the Nighthawks.
- During that span, the Gulls have only dropped one set and swept Newbury, 3-0, in nine straight meetings.
FOR THE FOES
- Rory Robbins (Riverside, R.I.) had a team-high three kills on nine swings (.333).
- Trevor Thorne (Oxford, Conn.) added two kills.
- Oscar Chaves (Independence, Ore.) and Jeremias Soto (Lawrence, Mass.) tied for the team-high in digs with five apiece.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (23-3) will host No. 2 seed Elms (18-6) in the NECC Tournament championship match this Saturday at 2 PM. The Gulls will look to capture their sixth straight NECC crown later this weekend. Meanwhile, Newbury sees its 2018 season come to a close at 5-18 overall.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)