BEVERLY, Mass. - Following a 3-0 week that included wins over two regionally ranked opponents, the Endicott women's volleyball team swept the weekly Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) awards as was announced by the league on Monday.
For their efforts in guiding Endicott to the undefeated week, Amanda Gilbert (Hopkinton, Mass.), Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) and Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) were recognized with Rookie of the Week, Libero of the Week, and Player of the Week honors, respectively.
Gilbert's Rookie of the Week nod is her first dawning the Blue and Green. The freshman played a huge role in Endicott upsetting Wesleyan, the fourth ranked team in the most recent NEWVA poll. In the 3-1 win over Wesleyan, Gilbert posted career-highs in kills, digs and hitting percentage (min. 20 attempts). Gilbert went off for 15 kills and 10 digs while hitting for a .342 average as the Gulls knocked off the Cardinals for the first time in program history. For the week, the Hopkinton, Mass. native averaged 2.11 kills/set, 2.00 digs/set and hit .268.
For the third time in 2018, Kennedy was named Libero of the Week following the 3-0 performance. For the week, Kennedy averaged 6.45 digs/set and 1.18 assists/set as Endicott swept Salve Regina, and knocked off a pair of regionally ranked foes in Wesleyan and Amherst, holding opponents to a .156 average. In the sweep of Salve, Kennedy averaged 5.00 digs/set by notching 15. She followed that up with efforts of 33 digs and four assists against Wesleyan and 23 digs and eight assists against Amherst. The 33 digs set a new career-high and is second all-time in Endicott history for a four set match. For the week, Kennedy averaged 7.1 digs/set.
After leading the Gulls offensively in every match that included wins over regionally ranked Wesleyan and Amherst by 3-1 finals, Mancini garnered her second CCC Player of the Week nod. The senior started with her first double-double of the week in the sweep of Salve with 11 kills and 11 digs. She followed that up with 21 kills, 11 dig performance against Wesleyan, the fourth ranked team in the NEWVA Regional poll. Mancini capped her week with a 26 kill, seven dig performance on a .393 average in the 3-1 win over Amherst, the 10th ranked team in the region. For the week, Mancini totaled 58 kills, 29 digs, and 59.5 points, for averages of 5.27 kills/set, 2.64 digs/set, and 5.4 points/set.
The women will be back in action on Wednesday when they play host to cross-town and CCC rival Gordon on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)