Jan. 22, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College rallied from a two games to one deficit to defeat visiting Elms College, 3-2, on Tuesday night in the MacDonald Gymnasium in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Capitalizing early on an over-zealous Elms squad, Endicott grabbed a quick 3-0 lead on a trio of shots hit out of bounds to begin the game. Moment's later, A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) extended the Endicott lead to four, 10-6, on a huge kill on the far side. Sophomore John Emery (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) followed the Witkofsky kill by nailing home a point of his own on the opposite end, giving Endicott the 14-8 advantage. Freshman Jordan Durant (Honolulu, Hawaii/Maryknool School) all but sealed game one win with an exclamation point kill, leading the Gulls to a 30-21 game one win.
A back-and-forth game two featured several ties and lead changes before Elms stole the game late. Ivan Andujar (Carolina, Puerto Rico) dropped a soft ace in the middle of the Endicott defense to give Elms an early lead, 10-9. A.J. Witkofsky answered right back with a hard kill to pull even at 10-all. The see-saw battle continued as Carlos DeLeon-Gomez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) served consecutive aces to even it up at 25-25. The Blazers' Curt Despard (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) and Ivan Andujar teamed to block a Witkofsky kill attempt, stealing the game, 30-28.
Elms, still rolling after its game two win, charged out to an 8-5 lead to open game three. In a sign of things to come, the Blazers capitalized on several Endicott miscues to build a comfortable advantage, 18-11. Following a Gulls' timeout, Endicott grabbed three-straight scores to keep it close, 18-14. Despite the come from behind effort, Elms' Ivan Andujar sealed the win with a big solo block, taking game three, 30-24.
Elms fired out of the gates in game four, taking a 4-0 lead to start. From there, the Blazers' built a 12-5 advantage behind a strong front line defense. Endicott, refusing to go quietly, took five of the next six scores to cut the lead to 13-10. The lead would stay at three, 21-18, after a strong ace by Ivan Andujar. Alberto Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/Carmen Sol) made sure Elms would keep its cushion, blasting a far side kill to extend the advantage to four. Following an Endicott timeout, Mike Meredith (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) earned a hard-fought point, followed by a nifty ace from John Emery to pull within one. The Gulls tied the contest for the first time all game after an Elms miscue, knotting the gamet at 27-all. Endicott rallied to score four of the next six, earning the come from behind win, 31-29.
Each team exchanged points to open game five. A.J. Witkofsky gave the Gulls a two point cushion, 7-5, off a hard kill to the middle of the Blazers' defense. The home team continued rolling, earning a 10-8 advantage off a nice serving effort from Zeke Kubisch (Bethlehem, N.Y./Bethlehem Central). Moment's later, Elms' Tim Gordon (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) was unable to send a serve over the net, setting up game point for the Gulls. Freshman Zeke Kubisch did not disappoint the home fans as he used his entire 6'4" frame to earn the match-ending kill, 15-11.
Elms College was led by Alberto Bravo's 25 kills. Ivan Andujar had a standout match, showing his athleticism in a 64 assists and four solo block effort. Marc Carrasco (Safford, Ariz./Pueblo High Magnet) also registered 16 digs in the loss.
Endicott's A.J. Witkofsky set program records for kills (35) and points in a game (40.5). Jordan Durant also notched 14 kills for the Gulls. Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y./Penn) dished out 59 assists while Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass./Millis) secured 18 digs. Zeke Kubisch had three aces and Witkofsky had nine blocks (two solo, seven assisted) in the winning effort.
With the victory, Endicott improves to 1-1 overall (0-0 NECVA) while Elms dips to 0-1. The Blue and Green return to action on Friday night as they travel to Mount Ida for a 7:00 pm contest against the Mustangs.
