BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 13 nationally ranked Endicott men's volleyball team earned a pair of five-set victories over MIT and Johnson & Wales University (JWU) on Saturday at MacDonald Gymnasium. The Gulls defeated MIT by scores of 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, and 15-11, and also bested JWU by scores of 25-23, 28-26, 21-25, 22-25, 15-10.
NO. 13 ENDICOTT 3, MIT 2 (22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11)
Down 2-1 in the match and 11-4 in the fourth set, the Gulls rattled off 15 of the next 20 points to open up a 19-16 advantage in their favor.
That run proved to be crucial as the Gulls won the set, 25-22, to push the match to a deciding fifth set.
From there, Endicott continued to ride its newfound momentum in the fifth set as the Gulls opened the frame with an 8-3 run before eventually taking the set, 15-11.
Bryn Lipton (Rockford Ill.) paced the Gulls offensively with 17 kills, while Erich Roman, Gabe Felicetti, and Donovan Dey (Fairport, N.Y.) all had 11 kills, respectively.
Meanwhile, Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) dished out a career-high 51 assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls led wire-to-wire in the fifth set.
- Lipton also led the Gulls in digs with 15.
- There were a total of 18 ties and five lead changes in the match.
- Lipton's 17 kills were a season-high.
- In the fourth set, Lipton guided Endicott offensively with four kills.
- The Gulls also received three kills from Dey during their 15-5 run.
- Nikolas Kasprzak (Windham, N.H.) posted seven kills and a career-high six block assists.
NO. 13 Endicott 3, JWU 2 (25-23, 28-26, 21-25, 22-25, 15-10)
After the Wildcats forced set five despite being down 2-0 in the match, Endicott answered JWU's comeback attempt with an 11-4 run to start the fifth set to lock up the eventual victory.
Dey led the charge in set five behind four kills on five swings (zero errors) and one block.
Meanwhile, Lipton had two kills and Felicetti registered two service aces to aid the Gulls in the set.
As for the entire match, Dey produced a team-high 19 kills (.400) and also added seven digs and four blocks (one solo) to his stat line.
Ian Smith (Elk Grove, Calif.) chipped in with 10 kills, seven digs, and one block assist, while Lipton compiled 16 kills (.394) and 15 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The match featured 26 ties and eight lead changes.
- Lipton went a perfect 39-for-39 on serve-receive.
- Riorden extended his streak of having 40 or more assists in a match to three with 42 total in the win.
- In his last three matches, Riorden has averaged 44 assists.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (5-2) travels to Wentworth on Thursday, February 6 at 7 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)