Feb. 16, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College men's volleyball team continued it's recent hot streak by sweeping past Wentworth Institute of Technology 3-0, in a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association contest in Beverly, Massachusetts. The Gulls have now won three straight matches, including nine consecutive games.
Endicott immediately took control in the first game, jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind the strong serving of sophomore Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y./Penn). The two teams would exchange points, battling to a 9-5 Endicott lead. A strong kill by Wentworth's Dennis Zomar (Marlboro, Mass./Marlboro) would bring the Leopards back to within three points. Zomar would eventually serve the Leopards to within one point, at 12-11, with a brilliant ace. The Gulls would immediately answer back by rattling off five of the next six points, grabbing a 17-12 advantage. The resilient Leopards would claw back, closing the score to 20-17 after an ace from Wes Ancheta (Newton, Mass./Newton South). The Gulls would respond once again, scoring seven of the next eight points, highlighted by a diving save from junior Dan Coleman (Millis, MA, Millis) which was quickly followed with a kill from freshman Jordan Durant (Honolulu, Hawaii/Maryknool School). From there, Endicott would cruise on to win the first game by a score of 30-20.
The two teams would exchange points to begin the second game, with Endicott eventually grabbing a 5-3 lead on a powerful kill from sophomore A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake). Several Wentworth miscues would then allow the Gulls to expand their lead to a 9-5 score. The Leopards would close the gap to 10-8 behind the strong jump serve of Lowell Jesmer (Rochester, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit). Once again Endicott would respond to the Wentworth threat, taking an 18-11 lead, forcing the Leopards to take a timeout. The Gulls held strong after the timeout, keeping their seven-point lead in tact with the score 23-16, once again forcing the Leopards to call a timeout. Following Wentworth's second timeout, Endicott scored seven unanswered points, sparked by several aces from Ben Foster, grabbing the second game by a score of 30-16.
Wentworth came out strong in the third game, mounting a 4-1 lead after a strong kill from senior Danny Tessier (Pawtucket, R.I./St. Raphael Academy). The Leopard lead would grow to four, until the Gulls battled back with consecutive kills from A.J. Witkofsky closing the gap to 5-4. The two teams would seesaw to a 10-all tie. The back-and-forth battle would continue as the Leopards evened the score at 15-all on a kill from freshman Lowell Jesmer. The Gulls would then capitalize on several Wentworth mistakes to grab the lead by a score of 20-17. Wentworth would eventually close the gap at 23-22, forcing Endicott coach Tim Byram to use a timeout. The Gulls came out strong after the timeout, sealing the victory by a score of 30-26 in the third and final game.
The Leopards were led by freshman Lowell Jesmer, who had 10 kills in the loss. Other Wentworth standouts included senior Dennis Zomar with five aces, and freshman Wes Ancheta with three aces.
The Gulls were paced by Ben Foster, who collected 40 assists, five aces, and seven digs in the victory. Sophomore A.J. Witkofsky added 15 kills and nine digs, while junior Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass./Millis) led the team with 12 digs of his own.
Endicott returns to action on Tuesday when they host the 14th ranked Rivier College Raiders. The match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the MacDonald Gymnasium in Beverly, Massachusetts.
