Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. – The top-seeded Endicott women’s volleyball team lost just one TCCC match all season long, a 3-0 setback to Roger Williams University back on September 19th. On Thursday night the Hawks proved the early season victory was no fluke, as fourth-seeded RWU pulled the upset and knocked off the three-time defending TCCC Champion Gulls in a 3-0 sweep in Beverly, Mass. Roger Williams used set scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 25-20 to improve its record to 20-10 and advance to Saturday’s conference final.

A closely contested first set yielded a 22-all tie late into the opening game. Following a Roger Williams’ timeout, the Hawks responded by nailing a service ace by Marilu Gonzalez-Yanez (Los Angeles, Calif.) to take a one-point lead. An Endicott attack error opened the door for RWU’s Brittney Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.), who took a feed from Gonzalez-Yanez and buried a set-ending kill to give the guests the game one win, 25-22.

A see-saw affair in game two produced a total of six ties before the Hawks eventually took the frame, 25-22. RWU opened a 10-6 advantage after a Marybeth Torpey (Quincy, Mass.) kill and eventually ran the lead to 20-16 after Torpey struck again on the outside. An Endicott timeout slowed the Hawks, as the Gulls rattled off four quick points to knot the game at 20-all. Torpey and Kristina Dolan (Glenmont, N.Y.) silenced any comeback thoughts as the pair combined for back-to-back assisted blocks, helping the visitors take the second game.

Roger Williams rode the momentum into the third set and took the victory with a 25-20 win. Neither team could find any separation in the early going, as scores of 10-10 and 14-14 kept the two sides gridlocked at the midpoint of the game. The Hawks scored three-straight points before opening a lead of 24-18. Two points later, an Endicott attack error ended the Gulls’ postseason, 25-20.

Prior to Thursday night’s setback, Endicott had ended Roger Williams’ season in each of the last four years. The Gulls defeated the Hawks in the TCCC semifinals in ’05, ’07 and ’08, and sunk RWU in the conference championship game in 2006.

Roger Williams was led by Kristina Dolan’s 11 kills and three assisted blocks. Both Rebekah Dion (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and Marybeth Torpey finished the night with nine kills apiece. Emily Lebowitz (Coventry, Conn.) handed out 32 assists while Jill Hurd (Sunapee, N.H.) registered 14 digs.

Endicott got a team-high 11 kills from senior \#Steph Wiese\# (Higganum, Conn.). \#Brittany Phillips\# (Sudbury, Mass.) had 10 kills, 10 digs and five aces, while freshman libero \#Ashley Norley\# (Sudbury, Mass.) had 12 digs in the losing effort.

Roger Williams University advances to The Commonwealth Coast Conference finals on Saturday afternoon where the Hawks will meet the second-seeded Western New England College Golden Bears. WNEC defeated Colby-Sawyer College 3-1 on Thursday night in the league’s other semifinal matchup. Endicott (19-15) now awaits either an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament or an invite from the ECAC for its invitational next week.