BEVERLY, Mass. – In the team's last home match of the season before the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) tournament begins, the Endicott women's volleyball team took down Nichols 3-0 to move to 18-11 on the season, and 8-0 in CCC play. With the setback, Nichols fell to 4-17 overall and 0-8 in conference play.
The Gulls took the first set 25-13, holding the Bison to a .000 hitting percentage (6-6-24). The hosts hit at a .286 clip in the first, posting nine kills on 21 swings with just three errors. The second set would prove to be much closer, with Endicott going down early, 9-3, before going on an 8-2 run to tie the set at 11-11. Endicott would pull away late, edging Nichols 25-21 to go up 2-0 in the match after the offense ramped it up to record 16 kills in the set. The third would prove to be another close affair with the Gulls pulling away late as Endicott claimed the third 25-20 for the 3-0 win.
With the win, Endicott has locked up the #1 seed in the upcoming CCC tournament. The pairings and times of all matches will be decided Saturday after the conclusion of conference play. The quarterfinals start on Tuesday, November 1 while the semifinals and finals are Thursday, November 3 and Saturday, November 5.
BEYOND THE BOX
- The Gulls were able to showcase their youth and depth in the match as 10 different players recorded kills. Leading the charge were freshman Alex Dippel (Fallston, Md.) and sophomore Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) as the duo combined for 18 of the team's 37 kills.
- Mancini, who was coming off back-to-back career-high performances that saw her post 18 kills in the team's 3-1 win over Roger Williams, recorded seven kills on 12 error-free swings to hit a match-high .583. Dippel led all players with 11 kills and chipped in five digs in the effort.
- Setters Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.), Emma Jutras (Cranston, R.I.) and Staci Sonke (Bishop, Calif.) combined for 29 of the team's 35 assists in the match. Jutras led the Gulls with 15 in two sets of action, while Sonke posted nine. Clotfelter finished with five assists and three digs in her one set of play.
- Liberos Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) and Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) finished with nine and 10 digs, respectively.
FOR THE FOES
- Outside J'ena Baker (Rockledge, Fla.) led the Bison attack with 10 kills while also picking up seven digs. The freshman hit at a .333 clip as her 10 kills came on 24 swings with just two errors.
- Libero Jayla Simmons (Rockledge, Fla.) stood out defensively, leading all players with 15 digs in her three sets of action for an average of 5.00/set.
- Setter Megan Gardner (South Deerfield, Mass.) finished with 20 assists in the contest while Sabrina Boermeester (Billerica, Mass.) finished with six kills.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott, 18-11 (8-0 CCC), will end the regular season at Wentworth on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. The Gulls have locked up the top seed in the upcoming CCC tournament. The pairings and times of all matches will be decided Saturday after the conclusion of conference play. The quarterfinals start on Tuesday, November 1 while the semifinals and finals are Thursday, November 3 and Saturday, November 5. Nichols host Roger Williams on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and then travels to Westfield State to take on the Owls and Mass. Maritime on Saturday to finish the season.