FRANKLIN, Mass. – The No. 13 nationally ranked Endicott men's volleyball team defeated Dean College, 3-0, by scores of 25-11, 25-7, and 25-10 on Saturday afternoon in the conference opener for both programs at Pieri Gymnasium.
Finn McCaffrey (Redding, Conn.) paced the Gulls with a match-high/career-high six kills on seven swings and no errors (.857).
Ian Smith (Elk Grove, Calif.) also added five kills (.400) and a career-high seven service aces in the win.
Meanwhile, Gabe DeBenedetto (Rockford, Ill.) ran the majority of the attack via a match-high 19 assists and Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 helpers.
As a team, the Gulls produced a season-best .600 hitting percentage (34K-4E-50TA) behind DeBenedetto and Riorden's play.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott has now won six matches in a row.
- The Gulls are 2-1 on the road this season.
- Endicott is 5-0 all-time against Dean (all sweeps).
- In the first set, the Gulls produced a .733 hitting percentage (12K-1E-15TA). That mark is the second-highest hitting percentage for a set this season (.750, 15K-0E-20TA vs. Lasell on 1/29/2020).
- DeBenedetto has registered 10 or more assists in all eight matches he has played in this season.
- Thirteen Endicott student-athletes registered at least one kill in the match.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 13 Endicott (8-2, 1-0 NECC) hosts Emmanuel on Wednesday, February 19 at 6 PM. Dean (0-9, 0-1 NECC) takes on SUNY Potsdam at home on Friday, February 21 at 7:30 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)