MILTON, Mass.- The Endicott women's volleyball team improved to 12-5 overall and 2-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play on Tuesday evening with a 3-0 sweep of Curry. The Gulls now turn their focus to Saturday when they welcome reigning CCC Champion Roger Williams to the Nest as part of Endicott's Homecoming schedule.
Endicott was able to take the first set 25-16 before a dominant 25-6 win in the second staked the Gulls to a 2-0 lead. Endicott would seal the win in the third with a 25-17 set to sweep their third consecutive match.
Directing the offensive attack for Endicott were setters Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) and Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.). VandeMerkt led all players with 16 assists in the match while Clotfelter was second with 10. Each setter recorded a serving ace as well as Endicott served up eight as a team.
Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) led the match with 13 kills as the sophomore was one of six Endicott players to hit .500 or higher in the win. Sheehan's 13 kills came on 22 attempts as she hit .500 even to go along with two digs and two assists. Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) pitched in nine kills of her own on 15 swings as the junior posted a .533 average while she also tied for the team lead with two assist blocks.
Defensively, sophomore libero Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) recorded a match high 22 digs, good for an average of 7.33 per set, well above her season average of 4.46.
BEYOND THE BOX
- With the win, Endicott has now won six straight matches. It is the second time of the season the Gulls have posted a win streak of six as the Gulls opened the season 6-0 as well.
- Sheehan's 13 kills marked the ninth time on the season the outside has eclipsed double-digits in kills while her .500 average was her third best of the season, behind her .542 clip in the team's win over Simmons and her .621 average over Keene State, all in wins.
- The Gulls hit .400 for the match, a new season high performance, besting the team's .378 offensive output against Keene State on September 4. Surprisingly, the .400 performance still doesn't crack the top 10 all-time single match team performances for Endicott. The 10th best performance on that list is a .415 average against Wentoworth on October 31, 2006. Tops on that list is Endicott's .515 performance against Eastern Nazarene just six days earlier, on October 25, 2006.
FOR THE FOES
- Makayla Hughes (Franklin, N.H.) and Alyssa Keeney (Coventry, Conn.) combined to record 15 assists in the match as Keeney held a slight eight to seven advantage in the setback.
- Kayla Pedersen (Whitman, Mass.) led all Colonels with a .308 average as she also registered a team high six kills.
- Defensively, Courtney Carroll (Fairhaven, Mass.) led the team with 13 digs, her 10th double-digit dig performance of the season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott returns to action on Saturday when the Gulls play host to the Hawks of Roger Williams at 2:00 p.m. The match will be the first time the two teams have met since the Hawks edged the Gulls in the CCC Semifinals in a five set thriller last November as Endicott will also be celebrating Homecoming Weekend. Curry play host to Bay Path on Thursday before traveling to Emerson on Saturday for a tri-match with Suffolk as well. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
