BEVERLY, Mass. – Since the 1998 season, Endicott women's volleyball owned their program series over the University of England by winning 17 matches in-a-row and allowing just two of those wins to go to five sets. On Tuesday night, however, the Gulls watched the Nor'easters overcome a two-set deficit to win 3-2 and end a 14-year drought against Endicott.
Endicott edged UNE in the first two sets 25-23 and 30-28 before the Nor'easters won 25-19 and 25-16 in sets three and four. The deciding fifth set went back-and-forth with the two teams knotting the score six different times before two kills by junior middle Paige Curran (Chelmsford, Mass.) and another by junior middle Angie Brunette (North Andover, Mass.) pushed UNE ahead to a 15-13 set win to take the match.
Endicott dropped to 1-8 (0-2 CCC) on the season while UNE improved to 6-3 (2-0 CCC).
Brunette and Curran led a group of four UNE hitters who tallied at least 10 kills. Brunette struck 14 kills and factored in defensively at the net with five solo blocks while Curran totaled 12 kills. Nor'easters sophomore Leah Janelle (Madbury, N.H.) paced her squad with 15 kills and 12 digs and senior Jillian Goldstein (Lynnfield, Mass.) added 11 more.
Endicott was paced offensively by freshman Mackenzie Guerre (Carlsbad, Calif.) whose 16 kills and six block assists were both team highs. The Gulls matched the Nor'easters with four players in double figures for kills with junior Callie Dolan (Westford, Mass.), senior Falyn Torelli (Pelham, N.Y.), and sophomore Hannah Dahlgren (Queensbury, N.Y.) striking 12, 11, and 10 kills, respectively.
Both team's setters were busy with UNE's Maria Kuehl (Middleton, N.H.) dishing out 48 assists but also contributing with seven kills and tying libero Kirsta Adie (Tyngsboro, Mass.) with a team-high 21 digs.
The Gulls saw freshman setter Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) shatter her early career-high with 52 assists with nine digs and three assisted blocks.
Endicott senior libero Ashley Norley (Sudbury, Mass.) registered her sixth match this season with at least 20 digs as she had 27 to lead all players.
As a team, UNE sported a .225 hitting percentage on 60 kills, 22 errors, and 169 attempts. Janelle had a match-high .419 hitting percentage. The Gulls had 12 service aces in the match with freshman Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.) serving up four of them while adding nine kills, five digs and two block assists.
Endicott looks to return to the win column at this weekend's MIT Invitational against Mount Ida, Springfield, Simmons, and Colby. UNE hosts CCC rival Wentworth at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, September 26th at 7:00 pm.
