Posted: Sep 22, 2009
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Endicott College took the opening set of the night, but then Wesleyan responded by taking the next three en route to the Cardinals first victory of the season in a 3-1 triumph over the Gulls on Tuesday in Middletown, Conn. The setback drops the Gulls to 6-5 on the season.
Though Wesleyan took an early lead, 6-1, in the opening set, the Gulls rallied to tie the frame at 9-9 and eventually pulled ahead, 24-19. The Cardinals won the next four points to make it 24-23, however freshman \#Jackie Gardner\# (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) put the finishing touched on the set with a kill from the left side to give Endicott what proved to be its only victory.
Wesleyan again jumped ahead in the second set, 6-1, but this time never looked back in building up a 15-4 lead which grew to 22-5 before ending in a 25-10 Wesleyan win. The third set was the closest of the match as the teams went nip-and-tuck to a 15-15 tie. An 8-3 Cardinals run put Wesleyan up by a 23-18 count and kills leader sophomore Casey Reed put away the final point for the home team in the 25-19 win. Reed finished the match with 18 kills to go along with nine digs. The fourth set found Endicott moving ahead by a 5-2 margin at the start but Wesleyan again found a groove behind a 10-3 run for a 12-8 advantage. Extending the gap to 17-11, Wesleyan went on to wrap up the match behind a 25-20 victory.
Adding to Wesleyan’s attack was junior Lesley Faulkner with 12 kills. Junior setter Ellie Healy dished off 44 assists and made 12 digs. Libero junior Ruby Hernandez collected a team-high 25 digs while freshman Laura Volgenau led the way with five blocks.
On the Endicott side, senior kills leader \#Steph Wiese\# (Higganum, Conn.) was above her seasonal average of 3.11 kills per set as she put away 15 on the night. Junior \#Ally Murphy\# (Nashua, N.H.) had 13 assists and nine digs while freshman libero \#Ashley Norley\# (Sudbury, Mass.) helped out with 10 digs. Wiese also added seven digs in the match.
Both teams will be at MIT for its tournament again this coming weekend with Wesleyan facing Springfield and Endicott taking on Williams in opening-round action.
Release Courtesy of Wesleyan Sports Information