Mancini & Winkler Lead Endicott to 3-0 Sweep of UNE

Image of Nicole Winkler approaching for a serve.

BIDDEFORD, Maine - Behind a match-best 16 kills from Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) and a career-best .692 hitting percentage from Nicole Winkler (Southborough, Mass.), the Endicott women's volleyball team swept the University of New England (UNE) to improve to 15-9 overall and 6-1 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play.

Mancini's 16 kills came with just four errors on 32 swings as she hit .375 for the match. The junior also picked up six digs defensively and led all players with four aces, tying her season high. Winkler's .692 average came after she notched nine kills on 12 error-free attempts to go with two total blocks, two digs and two aces.

Setter Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) finished the match with 33 assists and 14 digs for her eighth double-double of the year. The sophomore guided the Endicott offense to hit .281 that included hitting over .300 in the second and third sets. The .281 average for the match was the sixth highest offensive output of the 2017 season for the Gulls. 

BEHIND THE BOX

  • Endicott improved to 24-3 all-time against the Nor'Easters, as the Gulls have won 24 of the last 25 contests between the two schools dating back to 1999. It was the 15th time Endicott has swept UNE over that 25 match stretch.
  • Libero Cydney Pierce (Carpinteria, Calif.) tied for second in the match with eight digs as she anchored an Endicott defense that held the Nor'Easters to just 19 kills and a .035 hitting percentage for the match.
  • The Gulls served up nine aces in the sweep, the fourth highest total of the season, and second highest for a three set match.

FOR THE FOES

  • UNE was led by Rene Roggenbuck (Goffstown, N.H.) who tied for the team-high with five kills. Roggenbuck didn't commit an error on her 19 swings to hit .263 while also collecting three digs.
  • Libero Katie Marsh (Melbourne, Australia) tied Pierce for second in the match with her eight dig effort.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott will take to the road on Saturday to travel to Nichols for their CCC contest on Saturday with an 11:00 a.m. start. UNE, now 9-12 overall and 3-3 in CCC play, travels to Springfield, Mass. to take on Western New England at 1:00 p.m.