Nov. 6, 2004
Beverly, MA-- In a hard fought match that proved to be a battle until the final game, No. 1 Endicott defeated No. 2 Colby-Sawyer College, 3-2 (30-27, 30-23, 26-30, 17-30, 15-12), in the finals of the Commonwealth Coast Conference. With the win, the Gulls earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The Gulls finished a perfect season in the CCC, going undefeated in the regular season and post-season (12-0) and claiming their first CCC Title on their first trip to finals. Colby-Sawyer has advanced to the title game eight consecutive years, winning the CCC title in 1999 and 2003.
The first game was a back and forth battle that the Gulls eventually won 30-27. Endicott held the lead in the second game, winning 30-23. Colby-Sawyer battled back in game three, 30-26, and maintained their momentum with a convincing 30-17 win in game four. Finally, an extremely competitive game five had both teams fighting to the finish with the lead shifting back and forth. Down 12-11, the Gulls sided out to put Patty Mikan at the service line. After a let-serve ace and a CSC timeout, Mikan ripped off two more serves which sealed the victory and gave the Endicott women's volleyball team their first ever CCC title.
"I am so proud of what this team was able to accomplish this season", Byram said. "Today's results started 4 year's ago with my first recruiting class and today they accomplished another goal they had for themselves. We set the goal of winning the CCC regular season so that we could host the playoffs and have the "Home Court" throughout and today we needed it."
The Gulls were led by Sara Moore with a team high 19 kills. Four players had double-doubles; Killeen Ross (12 kills, 25 digs), Susan Teta (11 kills, 10 digs), Meghan Hall (45 assists, 18 digs) and Patty Mikan (10 kills, 10 digs). Mikan also had 4 aces including the game-winner in game 5.
Colby-Sawyer was led offensively by Juniors Kathy Couture's 17 kills and Anne Coulter's 10. Jess Niebuhr ran the offense well and defensively Amy Tarte and Becky Schaffer picked up 19 and 14 digs respectively. "You have to give Coach Braegelmann and Colby-Sawyer credit for taking this match the distance", said Gulls coach, Tim Byram. "CSC being down 0-2 and forcing that fifth game was a terrific rally on their part."
Colby-Sawyer College (23-8, 8-1 CCC) now waits for a possible ECAC bid. Endicott (29-6, 9-0 CCC) advances to the NCAA Tournament, which most likely begins Thursday for the Gulls.
