BEVERLY, Mass. - Despite taking a close first set, the Endicott women's volleyball team fell to Springfield 3-1 on Friday night in the opening round of the MIT Invitational. Endicott, now 2-3, travels to Cambridge, Mass. to take on MIT and Wellesley at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
The Gulls, playing in front of a home crowd for the first time all season, took a tight first set by a 25-23 final. Endicott out-hit Springfield .234 to .140 in the first as the Pride committed six more errors than the Gulls. Springfield countered in the second to even the match with a 25-18 frame, forcing Endicott to hit .000 while the visitors hit at a .290 clip. The third and fourth sets would prove to be more of the same with the visitors hitting .289 and .314 on their way to taking the sets by scores of 25-19 and 25-13.
BEYOND THE BOX
Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) continued her impressive starts against Springfield, leading the Gulls with 10 kills with just one error on 35 swings as she hit .257 for the match. The junior outside also picked up 15 digs, tying her with setter Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) for second on the team. Clotfelter also dished out a team-best 18 assists in the setback.
Leading the defensive effort for Endicott was libero Cydney Pierce (Carpinteria, Calif.) who finished with 19 digs, good for third best in the match.
Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) produced eight kills in her two sets of action, while Nicole Winkler (Southborough, Mass.) and Remi Quesnelle (Sunderland, Mass.) finished with seven each.
FOR THE FOES
Junior outside Jen Donnelly (Exeter, R.I.) led the Pride with a 19 kill, 21 dig effort. Her 19 kills were a match-high while her 21 digs were two shy of the match-high mark of 23 set by libero Anagabrielle Sanchez (Caugas, Puerto Rico).
Setters Kayley Cimino (Cumberland, Maine) and Daniela Detore (Lake Grove, N.Y.) finished with 25 and 24 assists, respectively, while both chipped in six digs defensively.
Outside Hannah Andres (West Barnstable, Mass.) hit a match-best .417 (minimum of 10 attempts) after producing 10 kills on 24 error-free attempts.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott and Springfield will both travel to Cambridge, Mass. to finish up day two of the MIT Invitational. Endicott will square off agaisnt MIT at noon and Wellesley at 4 p.m., while Springfield will take on La Verne at noon and Geneseo at 2 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
