BEVERLY, Mass. – In a matchup with Cal Lutheran on Thursday evening, the No. 14 ranked Endicott men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-22) defeat at the hands of the Kingsmen inside MacDonald Gymnasium.
One night after handing No. 1 Springfield their second set loss of the season against a NCAA Division III opponent, the Gulls saw Cal Lutheran sophomore outside Patrick Rowe (Long Beach, Calif.) go off for a match-high 12 kills and sophomore setter Grant Nelson (Las Vegas, Nev.) distribute a game-best 34 assists to lead the Kingsmen to victory. Cal Lutheran wrapped up their six-match east coast road swing with a record of 6-0.
Complementing Rowe offensively for Cal Lutheran were sophomore outside Mason Mercer (Solana Beach, Calif.) with seven kills and sophomore middle Justin Dietrich (Las Vegas, Nev.) who added six more while both Andrew Reina (Orange, Calif.) and Michael Campbell (Oak Park, Calif.) each contributed five kills apiece.
Defensively, Rowe was a factor with a match-high 13 digs and three total blocks while Dietrich had two solo blocks and three assisted stuffs at the net.
For Endicott, junior opposite Jeremy Doski (Sandy Hook, Conn.) and sophomore outside Bryn Lipton (Rockford, Ill.) led the Gulls with eight kills each with senior outside hitter Troy Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) totaled seven kills and 10 digs. Lipton led Endicott with 11 digs defensive with junior middle Seth Braquet (Destrehan, La.) had three of the team's five solo blocks.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- This was the first career meeting between Endicott and Cal Lutheran.
- Setters Adam Dake (Victor, N.Y.) and Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) combined for 31 set assists in the loss.
- Sophomore libero Ryan Healy (Fair Lawn, N.J.) had eight digs.
- Freshmen Erich Roman (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Gabe Felicetti (Charlestown, R.I.), in limited time, each had three kills apiece.
- Endicott hit .134 as a team, recorded one service ace, and committed 11 service errors.
FOR THE FOES
- Cal Lutheran hit .240 as a team as they were most efficient in the first (.360) and third (.269) sets.
- The Kingsmen had nine team blocks with five different players contributing to the team's blocking total.
- Cal Lutheran served up two aces and committed six service errors.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 14 Endicott (18-3, 9-0 NECC) advances to the final week of their regular season and will return to their conference schedule with a pair of matches against Lesley at home on Tuesday, April 3 starting at 6:00 PM. Cal Lutheran (18-8) hosts Moorpark on Thursday, April 5 for their Senior Night and regular season finale.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
