Feb. 19, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Rivier College came into the MacDonald Gymnasium and made quick work of Endicott, downing the Gulls, 3-0, on Tuesday evening in a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association contest in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Behind the serving of Zach Hansen (Shelton, Conn.), Rivier opened up a quick 3-0 lead to start the night. Endicott responded to the early challenge by nabbing three of the next four points, pulling back within one. Moment's later, Endicott earned its first lead of the night as the Gulls converted consecutive Raider miscues into points. A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) continued to pad the Endicott lead as he contributed at the Endicott net and in a serving role, pacing the hosts to a 13-8 advantage. Endicott's Jeremy Hamel (Industry, Maine/Mount Blue) played excellent defense in the middle of the frame, as the Gulls turned back-to-back diving digs by the senior into hard fought points. Rivier made a late run, and following a solo block by Hansen, the Raiders were back within three. The visitors, who trailed by as many as seven in game one, regained the lead on a nice block from Matt Ferriera (Lincoln, R.I.) on a Witkofsky kill attempt. The Raiders late momentum proved too strong for the Gulls, as RC stole game one, 30-26.
Endicott and Rivier traded the opening 18 points of game two, as a 9-9 score eventually turned into a 12-9 advantage for the Raiders. The Gulls fired right back, and after taking three of the next four, the home team was back within one. As the back-and-forth battle continued, Rivier slowly began to creep away. Matt Ferreira hammered home a strong kill on the far side, forcing the Gulls to burn a timeout down four, 24-20. Rivier's four point lead would prove large enough, as the Raiders cruised to the 30-23 game two win.
Endicott showed early life in game three, as the Blue and Green burst out to a 3-1 lead. The Gulls doubled their advantage to four, 10-6, as Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y./Penn) pieced together a nice serving run. The momentum shifted sides, and with Chris Deluca (East Moriches, N.Y.) serving, the Raiders mounted their comeback. The visitors scored six straight points, rallying from a 15-10 deficit, to earn their first lead of the game, 16-15. Scott Wright (Salem, N.H.), the Raiders' 6'7" middle hitter, paced the visitors to a four point game three lead as he hammered home consecutive points at the net. Rivier was simply too strong on Tuesday evening, as the Raiders raced away with a 30-24 victory over Endicott.
Rivier was led by Scott Wright and Matt Ferreira, as the duel middle hitters notched 10 kills and 11 kills respectively. Zach Hansen ended the evening with seven digs and two aces, while Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, R.I.) also accounted for seven digs in the win.
Endicott's A.J. Witkofsky paced the Gulls with 15 kills and three blocks. Jordan Durant (Honolulu, Hawaii/Maryknool School) was also big upfront, recording 12 kills for the Blue and Green. Ben Foster handed out 42 assists while Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass./Millis) racked-up 19 digs in the losing effort.
With the win, Rivier remains unbeaten in the NECVA New England Division (10-6 overall, 4-0 NECVA). The loss sets the Gulls back to an even .500 (7-7 overall, 4-2 NECVA). The Raiders return to action on Thursday evening as they travel to Southern Vermont to meet the Mountaineers. Endicott will head to Newbury on Friday evening.
