BEVERLY, Mass. – Hosting a the play-in match in their first NCAA DIII Tournament match in program history, the Endicott men's volleyball bowed out of the national tournament following a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-22) loss to Kean at MacDonald Gymnasium on Sunday. The Gulls went up against a talented Cougars squad that hit .340 as a team and featured senior outside hitter Steve Vahalla (Bloomfield, N.J.) who went off for 17 kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the match.
Kean (26-7) moves on to face the top ranked team in the country, Springfield, on Friday, April 26th at 12:30 pm in Rochester, N.Y. on the campus of Nazareth College. After making a First Round appearance in 2012, the Cougars are advancing into Quarterfinals for the first time in just the third year of program existence.
Endicott ends their 2013 season tied for the third most wins in a single season (22) and sported an overall record of 22-10. In Sunday's match versus Kean, the Gulls were led offensively by freshman outside hitter John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) who struck 11 kills on 27 swings for a .296 hitting percentage. Defensively, junior libero Aaron Jessee (Okinawa, Japan) had a team-high 10 digs while junior middles Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) and Alex Wasik (Milford, Mass.) each had three block assists at the net. Junior setter Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.J.) totaled 22 helpers with five digs and two kills in the loss.
Kean sophomore setter Alex Barnhard (Old Bridge, N.J.) dished out 34 assists and total four kills of his own. Barnard was also a presence defensively with seven digs while factoring into three assisted blocks. Barnard was able to find five teammates for at least five kills. Along Vahalla's big game, seven kills by sophomore Ed Jedziniak (Hillsborough, N.J.), six apiece from sophomore Kyle Farley (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and freshman Tommy Rosario (Belleville, N.J.) in the middle, and five from sophomore outside hitter John Cunningham (Cinniminson, N.J.) also factored into the Cougars win.
Defensively for Kean, junior defensive specialist Michal Kucza (Kalisz, Poland) had a match-high 11 digs with libero Tom Kemmerle (Cinnaminson, N.J.) adding six digs. Rosario led all players with four block assists with Barnard and Farley each blocking three Endicott swings at the net.
In the opening set, Kean took a 3-0 lead until Gulls junior right side Josh Anderson (La Canada, Calif.) put Endicott on the board with the first of his eight kills. Behind strong serving from senior Matt Devendorf (Glastonbury, Conn.), Endicott went on a five-point run to go up 6-4. For much of the rest of the set, the two teams went back-and-forth until Kean used a four-point rally to go up 21-17 which including two kills by Vahalla. Kean wrapped up the first set 25-21 on a combination block by Rosario and Cunningham.
The second set belonged to Kean as the Cougars scored five straight points to go up 10-6 early on. The Cougars went up by as many as eight at five points throughout the set including the set-clinching kill by Jedziniak which made it 25-17.
Endicott rebounded with a strong third set as the two squads played neck-and-neck until the final points of the match. Tied 21-21, kills by Jedziniak and Barnhard gave the Cougars a two-point lead. Anderson's attack hit the ground to make it 23-22 Kean, but the Cougars finished off the Blue and Green as Cunningham's made it match-point and Farley's spike ended it 25-22.
