BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott's Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) and Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) were recognized in the 2016 New England Women's Volleyball Coaches Association (NEWVA) awards.
McIntyre was named to the All-NEWVA Second Team after claiming CCC Player of the Year honors for the second straight season. The senior was also named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America and All-Region following the team's NCAA DIII Tournament Appearance. An outside, McIntyre was named to the All-CCC First Team for the third time in her career after earning Honorable Mention honors as a freshman. She is the third player in program history to earn at least three First Team All-Conference nods. McIntyre became just the second women's player to eclipse the 1,300 kill and 1,300 dig plateau as she finished her season with 1,312 career kills and 1,.324 digs. During the 2016 campaign, McIntyre recorded a single season career-best 363 kills and 330 digs, which was her third best season defensively. The four year started also posted career-best numbers in kills/set (3.13), hitting percentage (.239), points (425.0), points/set (3.7), digs/set (2.84), and service aces/set (.40).
For Gifford, the freshman was named to the 2016 NEWVA All-Rookie Team. As a freshman setter in the 6-2 offense for the Gulls, Gifford's 473 assists and 4.30 assists/set were both good for second on the roster as she earned All-CCC Third Team honors. The setter was also solid defensively, recording 198 digs on the season. The freshman has notched six double-doubles on the season, highlighted by a 22 assists, 11 dig performance in the team's 3-1 win over Salve Regina in which she also posted three digs. Her 25 assist, nine dig effort in the NCAA Tournament was two assists shy of her career-high.
Following the team's post season run that saw the Gulls fall in the 2016 NCAA DIII Tournament to Springfield, 3-1, Endicott finished tied for 10th in the final NEWVA Regional Poll. This is the highest ranking the Gulls have achieved in the poll, having previously been voted 13th on multiple occasions.
