Oct. 24, 2007
BEVERLY, MA - A battle between two of the top teams in The Commonwealth Coast Conference lived up to the hype on Wednesday night, as the Gulls defeated Colby-Sawyer College, 3-2, in the MacDonald Gymnasium in Beverly, Massachusetts
Colby-Sawyer jumped out to a 7-2 lead to open game one. Genny Moore (Centerville, MA/Barnstable) paced the visitors as she pieced together a strong serving run to earn the early momentum. Endicott burned a timeout in an attempt to slow the Chargers, however Colby-Sawyer kept the pressure on as Michelle Doody (Franklin, MA/Franklin) notched a big kill upfront, making the score 17-6. Moments later, the Gulls went on a run of their own, pulling within eight as they rattled off five straight points to making the score 20-12. Endicott proceeded to grab five of the next seven, closing the gap to five. The Gulls continued rolling, and with a nice block by Steph Wiese (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth), the score was 26-23 in favor of the Chargers. Back-to-back CSC miscues cost the visitors valuable points, as Endicott pulled within one. In the end, Colby-Sawyer was able to prevent the 20-7 collapse, holding on for the 30-27 victory.
The Gulls took a 5-2 advantage in the opening moments of game two. Endicott continued its strong play, doubling the lead to 12-6. The Chargers went on a mini-run of their own, taking five of the next six points to make the score 13-11. Not to be outdone, Endicott ended the Chargers rally by rifling off seven straight points, blowing the game open at 20-11. Hayley Janelle (Madbury, NH/Oyster River) kept the lead at nine as she notched a nice kill upfront, making the score 25-16. Endicott evened the match at one game apiece as they downed the Chargers in game two, 30-22.
Endicott and Colby-Sawyer traded points to open game three. The Blue and Green, who gained momentum on a kill by Kim Marschner (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry), distanced themselves to an 11-6 lead. The Chargers responded by notching seven of the next nine, evening the game at 13-all. Colby-Sawyer took the lead, 17-16, as the Chargers' frontline was strong in the rally. Melissa Estabrook (Newton, MA/North) took a nice pass on the near side and powered home a huge kill for the visitors, forcing the Gulls to burn a timeout. Colby-Sawyer made its lead nine as a Megan White (Monroe, CT/Masuk) serving run pushed the Chargers to a 26-17 advantage. CSC would take a two games to one lead with the 30-19 win.
A back-and-forth affair at the start of game four yielded ties of 5-5 and 8-all. With the score knotted at 10, a serving mistake by the Chargers' Taylor Forsberg (Moultonborough, NH/Moultonborough) gave the Gulls a one point lead. Endicott stretched the lead to four as the Gulls front line provided a pair of nice blocks for the home team. Colby-Sawyer built some momentum as they were able to pull within two, 23-21. Following an Endicott timeout, the visitors were able to pull even as they capitalized on Endicott miscues. The Gulls responded in a big way, taking the game's final four points, forcing a decisive game five with the 30-26 game four win.
It was only fitting that two of the conference's strongest teams play to a game five, and the Gulls and the Chargers did not disappoint. Endicott took the early advantage as the Gulls grabbed a quick 4-2 lead. Michelle Doody continued her strong hitting night as she nailed a well placed shot inside the backline, keeping the game even. Endicott took a three point lead as the Chargers' Forsberg couldn't handle a rocket by Steph Wiese. After the two teams swapped sides, Colby-Sawyer notched three straight points to pull even. Endicott responded with back-to-back points, taking a 10-8 lead. Moment's later, Beth Dow (Pocasset, MA/Bourne) ended a huge rally as she notched the biggest point of the match to put the Gulls up 13-9. Brittany Phillips (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln Sudbury) capped off an exciting night with a huge kill on the nearside, ending the game and the match, 15-10.
Colby-Sawyer was paced by Michelle Doody's 21 kills. Junior Taylor Forsberg compiled 27 digs while sophomore setter Genny Moore handed out 43 assists. Junior middle blocker Kristen Romanko (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) led the Chargers upfront with five blocks.
Endicott was once again led by Steph Wiese. The sophomore outside hitter notched 21 kills, five aces and 14 digs in the five-game win. Brittany Phillips finished the evening with 12 kills while senior Beth Dow compiled 11 timely kills for the Blue and Green. Meghan Hall (Santa Cruz, CA/Aptos) had 54 assists and 20 digs in the victory.
With the win, Endicott improves to 21-10 overall and 7-1 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference. Colby-Sawyer steps back to 22-6 and 6-2 in TCCC play. Both the Gulls and the Chargers end their respective seasons with tri-matches on Saturday afternoon. Endicott will host the University of New England and Roger Williams University beginning at 11:00 a.m.