Feb. 9, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College men's volleyball team split a Saturday afternoon tri-match by downing Johnson & Wales University, 3-1, and then falling to JWU-Denver, 3-2. Endicott now has a 4-6 overall record and currently stands at 2-1 in the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association's New England division.
JWU broke out to a quick 6-2 lead in game one, as the Wildcats Ryan Caines (Kingshill, U.S. Virgin Islands) was strong upfront for the visitors. Endicott responded to the early challenge as the Gulls rattled off five of the next six points to even the game at 7-all. Following an Endicott timeout, Sean Lauro (West Roxbury, Mass.) and Ryan Caines teamed to block a John Emery (Westford, Mass.) kill attempt, putting JWU up four. Moments later, A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y.) sparked an Endicott rally as he found a hole in the Wildcats' defense, pulling the Gulls back within two. Endicott kept the momentum on its side as the Blue and Green evened the contest, and then pulled ahead by two, forcing the visitors to burn a timeout. Endicott completed the comeback attempt as Jordan Durant (Honolulu, Hawaii) powered home a kill on the far side, sending the Gulls to a 30-26 game one win.
Jordan Durant picked up where he left off to start game two, as he notched consecutive kills and then registered an ace to give Endicott an early 3-1 lead. Johnson & Wales got its way back into the contest as the Wildcats' capitalized on a trio of Endicott errors, pulling ahead 8-6. The two squads traded points until the midpoint of the second game, and that's when Endicott took over. The Gulls rifled off consecutive points and following a kill by Witkofsky, the Gulls led 20-15. Following a JWU timeout, Endicott continued rolling as they posted four of the next five to extend the lead to seven. From there, the Blue and Green coasted to the 30-21 win to pull ahead two games to none.
Endicott opened up a 5-2 lead to start game three behind a nice finish from John Emery. The Wildcats rallied back to even the score as Brian Robbins (Holbrook, N.Y.) finished off an individual effort with a monster kill on the near side, and then served an ace to even the score at 9-all. The see-saw battle continued for much of the game as the teams remained gridlocked at 16-16 and 22-up. Following a JWU timeout, the visitors grabbed a two point lead following a solo block from Ryan Caines; only to extend to the lead to three as a Jordan Durant serve sailed too far. The three point cushion was all the Wildcats would need, taking a 30-25 game three win.
Similar to game three, Endicott opened the fourth game with a 5-2 advantage, only to have JWU take five of the next six points to pull ahead 7-6. A nice serving effort from B.J. Worth (Londonderry, N.H.) returned the lead to the Endicott side as he helped notch back-to-back points for the Gulls. The hosts would hold a narrow two point lead, 21-19, only to have JWU notch a pair of scores to tie the contest at 21-21. Endicott would regain the lead just moments later, as Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y.) tipped home a point for the Gulls, making the score 25-23. A nice solo block by Sean Lauro kept the Wildcats close, 27-26, however the one point lead proved to be insurmountable for the Wildcats, as they fell 30-28 on a game ending kill from John Emery.
Endicott was led by A.J. Witkofsky's 23 kills. John Emery also added 18 kills in the win. Setter Ben Foster had a solid game for the Blue and Green, as he compiled 56 assists and 12 digs. Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass.) led the dig effort has he posted 16 for the Gulls.
In Endicott's second match of the day, the Blue and Green met Johnson & Wales University of Denver, Colorado. The Wildcats pounced on the Gulls to start the contest, quickly building a 12-6 lead. Curtis Oliver (Santa Barbara, Calif.) extended the visitors advantage to 17-10 as he nailed a hard kill on the far side. Despite the Gulls' best effort to hang-around, JWU-Denver was simply too strong in game one, cruising to the 30-22 win.
Endicott opened game two to the tune of a 6-4 lead. A.J. Witkofsky and Dan Coleman led the Gulls' charge upfront, as the duo connected on consecutive kills. Endicott added to its early lead on a point by John Emery, putting the hosts up 11-8. The Gulls pushed their cushion to four as Dan Coleman earned another kill for the Blue and Green, and then Jordan Durant picked up a solo block to put EC up 16-12. The visitors sliced the lead to two, 21-19, behind a solid kill from Eric Kiel (Long Beach, Calif). After taking six of the next nine points, Endicott found itself with a comfortable 27-22 lead. That five point advantage would be all EC would need, as they took game two, 30-27.
JWU-Denver came storming back in game three, racing out to a 4-0 lead to start. Endicott responded, and moments later, the game was tied at 9-all. As the back-and-forth battled waged on, the two teams went point for point throughout much of the middle of the contest. With score knotted at 18-18, the visitors notched three-straight to pull ahead, 21-18. Following an Endicott timeout, the Wildcats kept the pressure on by grabbing four of the next five points, distancing themselves at 25-19. In the end, JWU-Denver pulled away to take game three, 30-24.
Endicott took at 10-4 lead to start game four. The Gulls extend their advantage to 16-8 following a kill by A.J. Witkofsky. The Wildcats began to claw their way out of a deep hole, and following four consecutive points the visitors were back within striking distance. Eric Kiel and Komakana Fernandez (El Paso, Texas) teamed up to block a Jordan Durant kill attempt, cutting the Endicott lead to two. The visitors finally erased the Endicott lead as Benjamin Davies (Worcester, Mass.) earned a block at the Wildcats' net, evening it at 28-all. Refusing to let the game slip away, Endicott responded with tough defense, fighting its way to a 30-28 game four win.
The decisive game five opened with JWU-Denver taking four of the first five points. Down 4-1, Endicott slowly chipped its way back to within two, 6-4, on consecutive points by Witkofsky. The Wildcats responded by grabbing the next two, taking an 8-4 lead into the change. The visitors held their same four point lead, 11-7, and then added to it on a Curtis Oliver kill on the far side. Endicott stayed strong, and following a timeout, the Gulls took three-straight points including an ace from Zeke Kubish (Bethlehem, N.Y.) to make 12-10. Despite the late effort from the Blue and Green, JWU-Denver prevailed with the 15-11 win.
Endicott was led by Witkofsky's 26 kills, 11 digs and eight blocks. Jordan Durant finished the second match with 13 kills while Ben Foster tallied 64 assists. Dan Coleman also chipped in 14 digs in the losing effort.
The Blue and Green return to action on Tuesday night as the Gulls play host to Harvard University. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Beverly, Massachusetts.
