SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The No. 8 nationally ranked Endicott men's volleyball team split a pair of non-conference matches on Saturday evening at Blake Arena. In their first match of the day, Endicott defeated Hunter, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-23), but fell to host No. 2 Springfield, 3-2, by scores of 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 19-25, and 15-17 in the nightcap.
MATCH ONE: No. 8 Endicott 3, Hunter 0
Bryn Lipton (Rockford, Ill.) turned in a match-high 16 kills on 30 swings (.433), while Donovan Dey (Fairport, N.Y.) posted 13 putaways (.591) and eight digs to highlight the offense.
Jeremy Doski (Sandy Hook, Conn.) ran the Gulls' attack via a match-high 29 assists and Ryan Healy (Fair Lawn, N.J.) guided the defense with a match-high 13 digs.
The match only featured eight ties and two lead changes with seven of those ties and both lead changes coming in the first set. Endicott hit .307 (45 K, 14 E, 101 TA) – highlighted by a dominant .708 clip in set two – to improve to 5-4 all-time against Hunter.
MATCH TWO: No. 2 Springfield 3, No. 8 Endicott 2
In what felt like an NCAA Tournament match, Springfield prevailed despite a valiant effort from Endicott.
Match two for the Gulls on the day featured 31 ties and 15 lead changes before all was said and done.
Endicott raced out to a 2-0 advantage in the match and nearly took set three after erasing a 12-5 deficit with a 10-3 run to knot things up at 15-all. From there, the third set saw ties of 16-16, 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 22-22, 23-23, and 24-24 prior to three unforced errors (one block) that allowed Springfield to stay in it.
The Pride then took set four, 25-19, and rallied from a three-point hole two separate times in set five before coming away with the comeback win.
Dey fueled Endicott in the match with 17 kills and eight digs. Lipton also added 11 kills and 12 digs, while Doski posted a line of nine kills, 25 assists, and 12 digs.
The Gulls also received eight kills from Erich Roman (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Seth Braquet (Destrehan, La.) and a 19 assist/eight dig effort from Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) in the loss.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORES
- Today's match was the first time in program history Endicott took Springfield to five sets.
- Springfield has only lost two matches this season and only played to five sets three times (all wins).
- Endicott is 9-2 on the road this season despite the loss (6-2 in neutral site matches).
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 8 Endicott (21-5) travels to MIT on Wednesday, April 3 at 7 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
