Providence, R.I. — The No. 4 nationally ranked Endicott men's volleyball went 1-1 during the Johnson & Wales tournament on Friday night at Wildcat Center.
The Gulls lost a hard-fought 3-2 battle to No. 14 UC Santa Cruz before defeating Keuka, 3-0.
NO. 14 UC SANTA CRUZ 3 NO. 4 ENDICOTT 2 (21-25, 25-27, 25-19, 29-27, 10-15)
Down 2-0 in the match, Endicott showed a lot of resolve as the Gulls fought back to bring the match into a fifth set.
The Gulls dominated the third set posting a match-high .452 hitting percentage (16 K, 2 E, 31 TA) to force the fourth set.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. The Gulls found themselves trailing 13-17 before rattling off four straight points to tie the match at 17, they then eventually took the lead 21-20. From 21-20 the set had eight ties, and five lead changes before Endicott was ultimately victorious, 29-27, to force the decider. Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) led the Gulls with 10 assists during that span.
The final set was tight but ultimately UC Santa Cruz pulled away 15-10.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- This was Endicott's opening match of the season.
- Donovan Dey (Fairport, N.Y.) paced the Gulls with a match-high 18 kills.
- Riorden led the Gulls off the bench with 35 assists.
NO. 4 ENDICOTT 3 KEUKA 0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-22)
Bryn Lipton (Rockford, Ill.) led the Gulls offensively with 12 kills (.455) along with three service aces, and eight digs.
Endicott also saw Ian Smith (Elk Grove, Calif.) record 11 kills and one service ace.
Meanwhile, Erich Roman (South Glastonbury, Conn.) produced four kills, while Will Perry (San Mateo, Calif.) and Gabe Felicetti (Charlestown, R.I.) each had three kills.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Tonight was the first-ever matchup between Keuka and Endicott.
- The Gulls had 10 student-athletes with at least one kill.
- Gabe DeBenedetto (Rockford, Ill.) and Riorden each had 17 assists to lead the Gulls.
- In the third set, the Gulls posted a set-high .429 hitting percentage (13K, 4E, 21TA).
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 4 Endicott (1-1) will travel to Vassar College on Saturday, January 25 to take on Ramapo at 2 PM and Vassar at 4 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)