BEVERLY, Mass.- Competing in day one of the MIT Invitational, the Endicott women's volleyball team defeated visiting Bates for the second straight year and lost to Bowdoin by a 3-2 final.

MATCH ONE: Endicott 3 Bates 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-20)

The Gulls took on the Bobcats of Bates in the opening match of the Invitational and swept the visitors for their second straight win in the series.  Endicott was led by junior outside Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) who had a match high 10 kills on 26 swings while hitting at a .269 clip.

With both teams operating in a 6-2 offense, Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) recorded a match high 21 assists to go along with six digs on the day.  Freshman Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) chipped in with 11 assists and five digs of her own to go along with three kills.  Both setters combined to run an efficient offense as the Gulls out-hit the Bobcats .250 to .082.

Leading the defensive charge were sophomore libero Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and junior Lilly Benabou (Medway, Mass.) who each picked up 10 digs in the win. 

BEYOND THE BOX

• Endicott middle Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) hit .412 in the match as she recorded nine kills and was hitting a team high .432 at the conclusion of the Bates win while averaging 2.25 kills/set, good for second on the team.
• Fellow middle Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.) notched four kills on seven error-free swings for a .571 average, boosting her season average to .302. 
• Getting the first start of her career, freshman Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) hit at a .333 clip and added one dig to her debut.
• Senior opposite Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.) chipped in seven kills while hitting .350 to mark her second best offensive performance of the short season.  Watts also tied with Sugrue and Knapp for the team lead in blocks with three total.

FOR THE FOES

• Junior outside Chandler McGrath (Seal Beach, Calif.) led the offensive attack for the visitors, recording eight kills on 23 attempts to go along with one solo and one assist block.
• Libero Laryssa Schepel (Flemington, N.J.) recorded a match high 14 digs in the setback to lead a Bobcats defense that registered 50 digs overall.
• Setter Hannah Tardie (Orange, Calif.) picked up a team high 13 assists in the loss while Jacqueline Farney (Bloomington, Ind.) chipped in with 10 of her own.

WHAT'S NEXT

Both teams play a second match on day two, with the Gulls playing another NESCAC foe in Bowdoin, and Bates taking on NEWMAC member Springfield.  The Pride defeated the Polar Bears 3-0 in round one on court two.

MATCH TWO: Bowdoin 3 Endicott 2 (21-25, 29-27, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13)

In the second match of the evening, Endicott women's volleyball nearly upset regional powerhouse Bowdoin in a five set marathon but came up just short, falling 15-13 in the fifth. 

Endicott was led by a trio of outstanding offensive performances from juniors Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) and Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.), and senior Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.).  McIntyre notched a team high 18 kills with just one error on 58 swings (.293) while Knapp finished with 17 kills and two errors on 32 attempts (.469), and Watts ended with 15 kills and five errors on 35 swings (.286).

Defensively, the Gulls were led by sophomore Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) who finished with 25 digs, setting a new career high, while Lilly Benabou (Medway, Mass.) picked up 15 of her own.

VandeMerkt and Clotfelter combined for 56 assists in the setback.

BEYOND THE BOX

• Three Endicott players recorded double-doubles with VandeMerkt (36 assists, 19 digs) and Clotfelter (20 assists, 11 digs) doing so as setters, and McIntyre (18 kills, 16 digs) doing so from the outside.   
• Middle Kelli Sugrue (Tewksbury, Mass.) tied her career high with four blocks, a feat she had accomplished three times previously: October 1, 2013 vs. Wentworth, October 10, 2014 against Virginia Wesleyan and on November 6, 2014 against Roger Williams.
• It was the fourth time that the two programs have gone five sets against each other.  Of the previous three, Bowdoin had won two of them, first on October 18, 2006 at Bowdoin, and on September 12, 2009 at Endicott, while the Gulls were last victorious in five sets on October 26, 2010 at home.

FOR THE FOES

• Bowdoin was paced by a phenomenal offensive evening from Christy Jewett (Sunnyvale, Calif.) as the senior outside exploded for a match high 21 kills on 59 swings while hitting .288.  Jewett also posted 17 digs in the win.
• Setter Quincy Leech (Durham, N.C.) ran the offense well, recording a match high 56 assists in the win to go along with nine digs.
• Middle Erika Sklaver (Miami Beach, Fla.) and right side Michelle Albright (Los Altos, Calif.) each added 12 kills to the offensive attach from the Polar Bears as Sklaver hit at a .346 clip and Albright picked up 16 digs.
• Libero Katie Doherty (Menlo Park, Calif.) recorded an astounding 36 digs in the win, falling just short of her career high 40 she posted against Hamilton on October 11, 2014.

WHAT'S NEXT

Both teams travel to Cambridge, Mass. for day two of the MIT Invitational.  The Gulls will take on the Blue of Wellesley and the Royals of Scranton.  Bowdoin advances to take on Babson and MIT.  First match for the Gulls is set for an 11:00 a.m. start.  

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.