BOSTON, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team rallied behind the leadership of their three senior captains to beat non-conference rival Emmanuel 3-1 (27-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-23) on Saturday afternoon in Jean Yawkey Center and evened their early season record to 2-2 overall. Middles Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.) and Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) combined for 26 kills and eight blocks while setter Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y.) amassed 42 assists, 10 digs, six kills, and an ace.
Netherton led all players with 14 kills on 21 attempts with a .476 hitting percentage while Coniglione struck 12 kills on 25 swings at a .360 clip. Both players recorded a solo block and three assisted stops at the net.
Gulls sophomore Alex Wasik (Milford, Mass.) had eight kills on the day and was a presence at the net with five total blocks (one solo, four assisted). Outside hitters Brennan Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) and John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) added seven and six kills, respectively, in the win.
Roche's 10 digs matched Emmanuel libero Ernie Gurule (Los Angeles, Calif.) for a match-high with Osborne and Gulls libero Aaron Jessee (Okinawa, Japan) contributing with nine and eight digs each. Senior defensive specialist Kristian Catalan (Sudbury, Mass.) came on to tally five digs and a block assist for the visiting Gulls.
Emmanuel's junior outside Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) paced a Saints offensive attack that averaged only a .082 hitting percentage with 13 kills and nine errors on 34 swings. Ryan Kessler (Santa Clarita, Calif.) added nine kills with just a .107 hitting percentage. Emmanuel's setter, junior Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.), compiled 34 assists and six digs in the loss.
Endicott improve to 15-7 all-time against Emmanuel while recording back-to-back wins against them for the first time since the 2010 season when the Saints were ranked #12 in the country.
Endicott will hold their home opener on Tuesday, February 11th at 7:00 pm in MacDonald Gymnasium against New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) foe Regis (Mass.). Regis will come in with a five-match winning streak after a pair of victories today over St. Joseph's (N.Y.) and CCRI and a 5-3 overall record. Endicott has never lost to Regis in eight meetings.
