BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 13 nationally ranked Endicott men's volleyball team defeated No. 4 Stevens, 3-2, by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25, and 15-11 on Sunday afternoon at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Endicott's win over Stevens marks the highest nationally ranked opponent the Gulls have defeated in program history. The previous record was No. 5, which occurred against Kean University on January 26, 2019 (Endicott 3-2).

Gabe Felicetti (Charlestown, R.I.) and Erich Roman (Glastonbury, Conn.) both posted a career-high 17 kills to highlight the Gulls in the victory. Felicetti also hit .517 (17K-2E-29TA) in the match, while Roman compiled six digs, two blocks (one solo), and went a perfect 22-for-22 on serve-receive.

Meanwhile, Bryn Lipton (Rockford, Ill.) contributed a double-double (12 kills/13) and was crucial to Endicott's passing game as the senior outside registered a 34-for-34 showing on serve-receive.

The Gulls also saw Donovan Dey (Fairport, N.Y.) and Nikolas Kasprzak (Windham, N.H.) contribute eight and seven kills, respectively, while Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) facilitated the offense behind a career-high 59 assists (.518, 59-for-114).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls notched their first-ever win over Stevens today.
• Prior to today's match, Stevens defeated No. 2 New Paltz, 3-1, in its most recent contest (2/21/2020).
• The match featured 34 ties and 11 lead changes.
• Highlighting the previously mentioned numbers were set one (14 ties/5 lead changes) and set four (15 ties/5 lead changes).
• The fifth and deciding set took a turn after the frame was tied up at 6-6 when back-to-back attack errors (one block) by Stevens gave Endicott a slim 8-6 advantage, at the time.
• From there, Stevens only got within one point (8-7) for the remainder of the match as the Gulls rattled off five kills and two service aces and did not need to take advantage of any errors from Stevens to come away with the victory.
• Lipton guided Endicott's late fifth set run via two kills and two service aces to shore up the win.
• Dey, Felicetti, and Roman also contributed one kill each during that span.
• Junior libero Justin Kegebein (Liverpool, N.Y.) tallied four digs and went 25-for-25 on serve-receive (12 led to kills, .480).
• Lipton led all student-athletes on the court in digs-to-kills as six of his 13 digs correlated in kills.
• Lipton also saw 21 of his 34 receptions (.618) turn into kills, while 10 of Roman's 22 receptions (.455) were manufactured for eventual putaways.
• Endicott is still undefeated at home this season (6-0).
• The Gulls have won nine straight matches.
• Endicott handed Stevens its first road loss of the season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (11-2) travels to Northern Vermont-Johnson on Wednesday, February 26 at 6 PM. Stevens (13-2) visits No. 3 New York University next Wednesday at 7 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - Nick Grace '20)