BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball program is hosting its annual March Mania Invitational with eight teams competing in the Post Center's MacDonald Gymnasium and Field House. Two nationally ranked teams in the field in #13 MIT and #14 Rivier as well as Emmanuel (Mass.) and Kean who are receiving votes towards a top-15 ranking by the AVCA.
On day one, the Gulls take on NECC rival Elms for the second time this season in the first match of the day at 12:00 pm. At 4:00 pm, Endicott will play Kean for the first time in program history.
Match One: Endicott 3, Elms 2 (17-25, 25-13, 25-19, 23-25, 15-12)
Endicott and Elms, for second time in 2013, went to five sets with the Blue and Green eventually coming out on top behind a strong fifth set performance by junior middle Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.) who had a solo block, three assist blocks, and a kill to keep the Gulls undefeated in conference play at 8-0. Endicott improved to 13-4 overall with the win. Netherton finished with eight kills and a total of six blocks.
The Gulls were led with 10 kills from right side hitter Josh Anderson (La Canada, Calif.) with a .304 hitting percentage, four block assists, and three service aces. Junior Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.), like Netherton, finished with eight kills in the middle to go along with four assisted blocks, six digs, and two aces. Outside hitters John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) and Brennan Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) combined for 15 kills.
Junior setter Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y.) dished out a team-high 39 assists and had a team-high eight digs.
The Blazers stuffed the stat sheet with three players registering double digit kills including a match-high 18 from freshman outside hitter Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) as well as 10 apiece for Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) and Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.). Setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 44 assists, tallied 16 digs, and added five kills to a solid overall effort.
Defensively at the net, freshman Aleksander Kuzmenko (Chicopee, Mass.) blocked a total of six attacks, including two solo stops.
Elms dropped to 9-9 overall on the season and 3-4 in league match ups.
Match Two: Kean 3, Endicott 2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 19-25, 16-14)
Endicott saw their seven-match win-streak come to an end in match two on day one of the March Mania Invitational as the Gulls lost in five sets to the Kean Cougars. The Gulls saw season-highs from Osborne (20 kills, .326 attack percentage) and freshman setter Tyler Bacon (Cypress, Calif.) with 54 assists and standout efforts from senior right side Matt Devendorf (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Netherton with 11 kills each.
The Cougars rallied behind a match-high 18 kills from senior outside Steve Vahalla (Bloomfield, N.J.) who totaled .325 attack percentage on 40 swings. Fellow outside John Cunningham (Cinnaminson, N.J.) was not far behind with 17 kills as the duo helped sophomore setter Ron Dunn (Collingswood, N.J.) amass 53 assists.
Dunn also added 12 digs and six kills without an error to lead Kean. The Cougars also got strong defense from defensive specialists Michael Fox (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Michal Kucza (Kalisz, Poland) who had 16 and 13 digs, respectively. At the net, sophomore middle Kyle Farley (Cherry Hil, N.J.) led the team with six assisted blocks.
Endicott was led defensively by sophomore defensive specialist Kristian Catalan (Sudbury, Mass.) who had a team-high 11 digs as well as libero Aaron Jessee (Okinawa, Japan) and Coniglione who both registered nine digs. Coniglione added eight kills and three assisted blocks to his totals.
Endicott dropped to 13-5 follow the loss while Kean improved to 13-7 overall.
The Gulls move on to day two of the March Mania Invitational tomorrow when they will take on Johnson & Wales (R.I.) and Emmanuel (Mass.) at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.
