BEVERLY, Mass. - With Cydney Pierce (Carpinteria, Calif.) and Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) leading the way on Senior Day, the Endicott women's volleyball team took down Eastern Nazarene 3-1 and Rivier 3-0 to improve to 19-9 (8-1 CCC) on the season.
The Gulls honored the two seniors for their contributions to the program over the past four years in a brief ceremony prior to the first match of the day as Endicott was also celebrating Homecoming Weekend. Endicott now awaits the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) tournament pairings as the Gulls will host a quarterfinal match against Gordon on Tuesday night.
MATCH ONE: Endicott 3 Eastern Nazarene 1 (25-10, 25-6, 23-25, 25-23)
In the first match of the day, the Gulls completed their 2017 CCC schedule with a resounding 3-1 win to improve to 8-1 in conference play. The Gulls took the first two sets by scores of 25-10 and 25-6 before getting tripped up 23-25, and then closing out a 25-23 fourth set.
The two seniors were the story of the day as Pierce led all players with 17 digs while Sheehan led all players with 17 kills. Pierce finished with two aces and three assists in addition to her 17 digs while Sheehan ended the match hitting .286 while also chipping in seven digs.
BEYOND THE BOX
- Endicott improved to 18-5 all-time against Eastern Nazarene as the Gulls have won the last 16 straight meetings dating back to 2004.
- Sophomore Remi Quesnelle (Sunderland, Mass.) finished with 12 kills and a .323 hitting percentage to go with a solo block, while setter Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) finished with 36 assists and 10 digs in three sets of action.
- Freshmen Erin Skidmore (Franklin, Mass.) and Nicole Winkler (Southborough, Mass.) played well offensively as Skidmore matched her career high with six kills while hitting at a career-best .556 clip while Winkler's 5-0-6 line was good for a match-high .833 average.
MATCH TWO: Endicott 3 Rivier 0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-17)
Endicott completed the Senior Day tri-match with an emphatic 3-0 sweep of Rivier to end the regular season with a 19-9 record. Endicott's offense was clicking on all cylinders in the night cap, hitting at a .313 clip while the Gulls' defensive efforts held Rivier to a negative average at -.045.
Endicott's pin hitters led the way against the Raiders as the trio combined for 27 kills and just four errors on 59 attempts for a .390 average. Leading the way was Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) who posted 12 kills and two errors on 23 swings to go with an ace and two assist blocks, while Sheehan notched eight kills and one error on 18 attempts to go with five assist blocks.
BEYOND THE BOX
- Endicott improved to 4-2 all-time against Rivier as this was the first meeting between the two programs since 2005.
- Pierce led all players with 10 digs on the defensive end to go with three assists, while Nichole Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) finished with eight digs as well.
- Quesnelle finished with seven kills and an error on 18 attempts to hit .333, while Gifford was strong yet again, finishing with 31 assists and five digs in the win.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott, now 19-9 overall on the season and 8-1 in CCC play, has locked up the #2 seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament that will begin on Tuesday. The women will host #7 Gordon on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Our full playoff preview will be made available on Monday morning.