Sept. 1, 2007
WENHAM, MA - The Endicott College women's volleyball team opened the 2007 season by taking Third Place at the Gordon College Invitational on Saturday, going 2-1 in the day-long tournament.
The Gulls opened play by defeating Lasell College, 3-0, by the scores of 30-20, 30-23 and 30-22. The 2006 Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year, Meghan Hall (Santa Cruz, CA/Aptos), put together a solid 35 assist and 18 dig effort in the three-game sweep of the Lasers. Steph Wiese (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) continued making a name for herself, as she tallied 15 kills, seven digs and an ace in the winning effort. 6'2" Amy Grigg (Vernon, CT/Rockville) also made a strong contribution in her collegiate debut, racking-up nine kills for the Blue and Green.
In the Gulls second contest of the day they squared off with nationally-known MIT. The Engineers, who made it all the way to the NCAA "Sweet 16" a year ago, downed the Gulls in a hard fought, 3-2, battle. Hayley Janelle (Madbury, NH/Oyster River) and Steph Weise each contributed 16 kills for EC. Meghan Hall, who was awarded a spot on the All-Tournament Team, dished out 50 assists and had 27 digs in the losing effort. Brittany Nolan (Monroe, CT/Masuk) also made a strong stance for the Gulls, as the junior had 34 digs.
With a 1-1 record through the first two games, Endicott matched-up with host Gordon College in the Third Place game. After taking the first two games 30-22 and 30-16, the Gulls were eventually able to bury their cross-town rivals to take the match, 3-1. Steph Weise was once again dominant, putting 14 kills and seven aces on the board for the Blue and Green. Freshman Brittany Phillips (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln Sudbury) capped off her first collegiate appearance with a strong 12 kill effort against Gordon. Meghan Hall handed out 44 assists and had 24 digs in the Gulls final contest.
"I'm happy with where our level of play is on September 1st," said head coach Tim Byram. "We now have to turn attention and look forward to our first-ever meeting with UMass-Boston on Wednesday night."
