SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - For the first time this season, the Endicott women's volleyball team swept the weekly Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) awards. Taking home Player of the Week honors was Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.), while Cydney Pierce (Carpinteria, Calif.) was named Libero of the Week and Nicole Winkler (Southborough, Mass.) received Rookie of the Week honors.
For Mancini, it was her third CCC Player of the Week nod as she enjoyed another record setting performance during the 3-0 week. In leading the team to a 3-1 over regionally ranked Coast Guard, Mancini posted a new record for kills in a four set match with 28. The outside hit an astounding .511 for the match, recording her 28 kills on 47 attempts with just four errors while also adding eight digs and an ace. She finished her week with nine kills in two sets played against Eastern Nazarene in CCC play and 12 kills with a .435 average in the 3-0 sweep of Rivier. For the week, the junior averaged 5.44 kills/set while hitting .376, to go with 1.11 digs/set, 0.33 aces/set and 6.1 points/set.
Pierce's Libero of the Week honor was the second of the season as she led a stout Endicott defense that held opponents to just a .019 hitting percentage on the week. In two of those matches, the Gulls were able to hold the opposition to a negative average, while also holding Coast Guard to a .112 average, well below their season average of .164. Pierce began the week by posting 14 digs in the four set win over Coast Guard before posting 17 in the four set win over ENC. She finished her week with a 10 dig effort in the sweep of Rivier to average 3.73 digs/set for the week.
In her first season as a Gull, Winkler has now been named CCC Rookie of the Week twice, winning it in each of the past two weeks. After hitting .267 against Coast Guard with four kills on 15 error-free attempts and two blocks against Coast Guard to open the week, the freshman hit .833 against Eastern Nazarene after tallying five kills on six error-less attempts while posting three blocks in just two sets played. To end the week, Winkler posted seven kills and career-high six blocks as Endicott swept Rivier. For the week, the Southborough, Mass. native hit .306 while averaging 1.60 kills/set and 1.10 blocks per set.
The trio will look to guide the Gulls in postseason play as Endicott, the #2 seed in the CCC Volleyballl Tournament, will play host to #7 Gordon on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. in the quarterfinals. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.