BABSON PARK, Mass. – The Endicott women's volleyball team suffered a pair of hard-fought losses to Plymouth St. and Babson on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.
MATCH ONE: Plymouth St. 3 Endicott 2 (22-25), 25-22, 16-25, 25-21, 15-12)
Endicott dropped the first contest in Saturday's tri-match in five sets despite a record-setting performance from junior outside hitter Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.). Mancini smashed an Endicott women's volleyball program record with 28 kills, nearly 10 kills more than her previous career-high of 19. Mancini was the beneficiary of extraordinary sets from Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) who also a personal best 49 assists in the loss.
On the defensive side of the court, sophomore Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) had her fifth match of the season with double digit digs as she totaled 15. Gifford and Mancini each added 10 while junior Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) contributed with 10 digs. Blocking at the net, junior middle Emily Diezemann (Peabody, Mass.) totaled five blocks with senior Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) added four.
Plymouth St. was paced by 14 kills on the outside from Claire Sporer (Medford, Ore.) as well as 11 from middle Ari Linden (Lena, Ill.). The Panther hitters benefited from 40 assists off the hands of Megan Bailey (Canterbury, N.H.).
Plymouth St. improved to 14-7 overall after splitting their tri-match with Babson and Endicott.
MATCH TWO: Babson 3 Endicott 1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-13, 25-23)
In Endicott's second match of the day against the host Beavers, sophomore outside Alex Dippel (Fallston, Md.) connected for 10 kills and a .304 hitting percentage to lead the Gulls. Mancini tallied another 15 kills in the loss while Gifford contributed 34 assists and six digs. All three players served up three aces.
Defensively, senior Cydney Pierce (Carpinteria, Calif.) and freshman Nichole Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) kept Endicott in the match with 17 and 10 digs, respectively.
Babson's offensive output was provided by a trio of hitters in Gizem Yilmaz (Istanbul, Turkey), Gaby Miller (Miami, Fla.), and Kristin Carosotto (East Greenwich, R.I.) who combined for 25 of the Beavers' 38 kills. Yilmaz led the way with 10 kills on 22 swings and a .318 hitting percentage. Babson's defense was a presence at the net with 8.5 team blocks. Carosotto accounted for one solo block and six assisted blocks.
With two wins on the day, Babson improved to 16-3 overall.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott returns home on Wednesday, October 11 for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) showdown with Western New England (10-9, 2-2 CCC). First serve is at 7:00 p.m. inside MacDonald Gymnasium.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)