BEVERLY, Mass.- The Endicott women's volleyball team continued their long-standing rivalry with Colby-Sawyer on Thursday night and the Chargers edged out the hometown Gulls, three sets to one to claim the victory (21-25, 21-25, 25-15, 22-25). The highly contested affair marked the 28th time the two teams have met and the Gulls still maintain an 18-10 lead in the series. With the loss, Endicott falls to 7-7 on the year and returns to action against CCC and North Shore rival Gordon on Saturday as part of Endicott's Homecoming events. Colby-Sawyer improves to 11-4 on the season and returns to action on Saturday as well as they play host to a tri-match with Emmanuel and Brandeis.
The tight affair saw the visiting Chargers control the first offensively, hitting at a .250 clip while keeping Endicott to a .111 average. Colby-Sawyer recorded 16 kills in the first, five of which went to senior Stephanie Vecchio (Shelter Island, N.Y.). Setter Laura Smolinski (Hebron, Conn.) tallied 14 assists in the first, while also picking up two kills on three attempts. Libero Lexi Strong (Somersworth, N.H.) led the defensive effort as she recorded six of the Chargers 15 digs in the first set.
For the Gulls, Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) got off to a hot start, matching Vecchio with five kills of her own, while hitting at a .333 clip. Setter Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) notched 10 of her match high 43 assists in the first set as she also picked up four digs. Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) matched the six digs put up by her Colby-Sawyer counter-part, a sign of things to come as the match progressed.
Endicott would battle yet again in the second, falling by an identical score of 21-25 while struggling offensively. The Gulls hit at just a .051 clip while their defensive efforts stepped up, holding the Chargers to a .128 average. Endicott was led again by McIntyre who hit .333 in the set while tallying four kills on 12 error free swings and picking up four digs. VandeMerkt would chip in eight assists and four digs while Trudon again led the defensive efforts with seven digs in the set.
Colby-Sawyer countered with Veccio exploding for seven kills on 16 swings while hitting .312 in the set. She recorded seven of the team's 11 kills and was the only player with more than two in the set. Smolinski put a set high nine assists while also notching two assist blocks at the net while Gabrielle Rodriguez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and Jackie Keating (Marshfield, Mass.) led the efforts defensively with five digs each.
A fired up Endicott squad came out on fire in the third and finished hitting a season high .406 (15-2-32) in the set to claim a 25-15 win while holding Colby-Sawyer to just an .071 (8-5-42) average. The Gulls were led by Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.), McIntyre and Elise Morgan (Holbrook, Mass.) offensively, as the trio combined for 12 kills on 22 attempts without a single error. VandeMerkt dished out 14 assists to guide the offense while defensively, McIntyre picked up eight digs and Trudon and Jessica Petrucci (Cape Coral, Fla.) each tallied five.
Colby-Sawyer again looked to Vecchio for offense, but the outside could record just three on 13 attempts with a .154 average. Smolinski picked up four more assists while Keating pitched in three of her own. Strong was still solid on defense, picking up five of the team's 15 in the set.
The fourth and deciding set would be the closest of all the sets as the Gulls came up just short, 22-25 to give the Chargers the four set victory. The Gulls managed to record 14 kills but hit just .049, compared to 11 kills and a .122 average for the Chargers. Endicott was led again by McIntyre as the sophomore picked up three kills on ten swings to hit .300 and finish the match tied for the match high with 16 kills while hitting .357 and also picking up an astounding 21 digs. The double-double is her sixth of the season and second consecutive one as she was matched by VandeMerkt who distributed 43 assists while recording 12 digs. Trudon was outstanding defensively, claiming a match high 28 digs to average seven/set. The middle tandem of Sugrue and Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) was strong also as Sugrue tallied eight kills and a .235 clip while Knapp pitched in six while hitting .312.
The Chargers were led offensively all match by Vecchio as the senior finished tied with McIntyre for the match high kills total with 16. The outside also recorded a double-double as she picked up 10 digs in the win. Smolinski matched her double-double, recording 36 assists and 17 digs while Strong averaged six digs/set on her way to grabbing 24.
With the loss, Endicott falls to 7-7 on the year and returns to action against CCC and North Shore rival Gordon on Saturday as part of Endicott's Homecoming events. Match time is set for a 2:00 p.m. start. Colby-Sawyer improves to 11-4 on the season and returns to action on Saturday as well as they play host to a tri-match with Emmanuel and Brandeis.
