BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday, defeating Plymouth St. 3-1 and falling to Babson by the same score.
With the split, Endicott's record moves to 13-7 on the season. Plymouth, who also lost to Babson, falls to 8-13 on the season while Babson improves to 13-5 with the victories.
MATCH ONE: Endicott 3 Plymouth State 1 (25-19, 25-19, 21-15, 25-13)
In the opening match of the day, the Gulls used a balanced offensive attack to defeat the Panthers by a 3-1 final. In the four sets, the Gulls posted a .212 hitting percentage while combing for 51 kills. Setter Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) guided the attack with 47 assists while also chipping in 11 digs, good for her 10th double-double of the season.
Seinor Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) and junior Alex Dippel (Fallston, Md.) posted 12 kills each, good for the high mark in the match. Mancini's 12 kills came on a .333 average and seven digs, while Dippel pitched in an ace and four blocks, good for first on the team.
Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) finished with 14 digs to lead the Gulls while freshman Hayley Rosenblatt (Miller Place, N.Y.) chipped in six in just one set of play. Remi Quesnelle (Sunderland, Mass.) finished the match with eight kills, five digs and two aces in the win while hitting for a .353 average.
MATCH TWO: Babson 3 Endicott 1 (25-17, 13-25, 25-23, 25-16)
In a battle between two of the top 10 teams in the region, Endicott fell to Babson 3-1 to finish the weekend. The Gulls entered the weekend ranked ninth in the most recent NEWVA Regional Poll, while the Beavers were ranked eighth heading into the week.
Endicott struggled to contain Babson's offense in the match as the Beavers finished with a 60-45 advantage in kills and a .210 to .163 edge in hitting percentage. Endicott's best offensive performance came in the second set when the Gulls hit for a .385 average with 12 kills on 26 swings.
Leading the Endicott attack was freshman Amanda Gilbert (Hopkinton, Mass.) who finished with 13 kills and just three errors on 31 swings for a .323 average. Emma Mancini finished with 11 kills and 13 digs while libero Mackenzie Kennedy finished with 23 digs in the setback to lead all players. Remi Quesnelle and Colleen McAvoy (Coventry, Conn.) each closed the match with eight kills as Gifford finished with 41 assists and eight digs in the loss.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott travels to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rival Roger Williams on Tuesday night. Babson will play host Wheaton on Tuesday while Plymouth hosts UMass Boston on Wednesday.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)