Nov. 6, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College posted 14.5 total team blocks as the Gulls swept the fourth-seeded Roger Williams University Hawks, 3-0, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Semifinals on Thursday evening in Beverly, Massachusetts. Endicott logged set scores of 25-14, 25-22 and 25-19 in the win.
The Gulls opened the night with an impressive 7-0 run, aided by the strong serving of sophomore Brittany Phillips (Sudbury, Mass.) in the first frame. The Hawks would never get within five points throughout the set, falling in speedy fashion, 25-14.
A see-saw affair in the second game eventually swung in Endicott's direction as Ally Murphy (Gilford, N.H.) sparked the Blue and Green off the bench with a run that opened up a four point lead. The visitors would battle back to take a 21-20 lead as Erica DoVale (Hope, R.I.) powered a kill home off a set by Kirsten Bosworth (Centerville, Mass.). Endicott, however, showed its resiliency as the Gulls rattled off the next four points before eventually taking the set, 25-22.
The opening minutes of set three were back-and-forth, as EC and RWU shared leads of 11-11, 14-14 and 18-18. A kill by Brittany Phillips opened a dominating five-point rally that allowed the Gulls to take the match, 25-19.
Endicott was led by Phillips nine kill, 11 dig and four ace effort. Steph Wiese (Higganum, Conn.) had four kills, four digs and two blocks. Elyse Barbour (Greenville, R.I.) finished the night with six kills and just one error on 10 swings, while also posting seven blocks upfront. Senior Hayley Janelle (Madbury, N.H.) set a new program record as she had eight assisted blocks in the win. Janelle also tied the school mark for total blocks in a match with nine. Morgan Knees (Newtown, Conn.) had two kills and four blocks, while Casey Ward (Monroe, Conn.) dished out 13 assists and eight digs. Senior libero Brittany Nolan (Monroe, Conn.) posted 15 digs for the Gulls.
Roger Williams was led by Rebekah Dion's (Old Saybrook, Conn.) 10 kills on 18 swings with just two errors. Kirsten Bosworth had 24 assists while Jill Hurd (Sunapee, N.H.) notched 10 assists.
Endicott will be gunning for its third-straight TCCC title on Saturday afternoon as the Gulls host second-seeded Colby-Sawyer College. The contest will be a rematch of last year's thrilling conference final that saw the Blue and Green post a 3-2 win over the Chargers. Match time is tentatively scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Beverly, Mass.
