Oct. 18, 2007
BEVERLY, MA - The Endicott College women's volleyball team got back into the win column on Thursday, as the Gulls defeated Rhode Island College, 3-1, on Senior Day in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Endicott and Rhode Island College traded points throughout the opening moments of game one, as the Gulls were able to build a slight 9-7 lead. Endicott doubled its advantage as Casey Ward (Monroe, CT/Masuk) dropped in a service ace to put the Blue and Green up, 14-10. Ward continued her strong serving run, distancing Endicott to a 19-10 lead. Following back-to-back timeouts by RIC, the Anchorwomen fought their way back into the contest as a Kimiyo Garcia (Riverside, RI/East Providence) powered a kill home to cut the lead to 27-24. The Gulls rebounded and closed out game one as Meghan Hall (Santa Cruz, CA/Aptos) and Hayley Janelle (Madbury, NH/Oyster River) stuffed an RIC kill attempt, earning the block point and the 30-25 win.
Endicott raced out to a 9-2 lead in game two, capitalizing on several Anchorwomen mistakes. The Gulls kept rolling, building their lead to eight at 15-7 midway through the second frame. Beth Dow (Pocasset, MA/Bourne) gave the Gulls a 28-17 lead on a big kill on the near side. EC notched the game two win on an RIC net violation, putting the home team ahead two games to none.
A service ace by Meghan Hall got the Gulls off a 1-0 start in game three. From there, RIC and the Gulls battled back and forth, with the Anchorwomen taking a narrow 8-5 lead. Rhode Island College held a three point advantage, 16-13, throughout much of the first half of game three. Tina Hilton (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket) played a big role upfront for the visitors, standing tall at the Anchorwomen net. The Endicott offense began mounting a comeback, and consecutive points by Hayley Janelle notched the game at 24-all. The Anchorwomen locked-down and made a stand, rattling off six of the next eight points, taking game three 30-26.
Endicott and RIC exchanged points in the early stages of the fourth game. Endicott volleyed to a 12-10 lead, only to have Mary Kate Winter (Narragansett, RI/Narragansett) serve the visitors to a 15-14 advantage. The Gulls rallied to take six of the next nine, building at two point lead. With momentum on their side, Endicott took a 25-20 advantage, forcing RIC to burn a timeout. The break slowed the Gulls momentarily; however Endicott was able to return to form with a 30-27 victory.
Rhode Island College was paced by Kimiyo Garcia's (Riverside, RI/East Providence) 20 kills. Teammate Sharon Corriveau (Coventry, RI/Coventry) compiled 16 digs while setters Nicole Enos (Coventry, RI/Coventry) and Amy Souza (Tiverton, RI/Tiverton) combined for 29 assists.
The pair of Endicott senior honorees, Meghan Hall and Kim Marschner (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry), put up nice numbers in the Endicott victory. Hall dished out 48 assists while Marschner finished with 15 digs. Leading the pack upfront for the Blue and Green was Steph Wiese (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth), who had 16 kills and 13 digs. Hayley Janelle finished the night with 11 kills, four blocks and an ace, while Brittany Nolan (Monroe, CT/Masuk) had 20 digs.
With the win, Endicott improves to 19-10 overall. Rhode Island College falls to 15-12. The Anchorwomen return to action on Saturday afternoon as they host Little East opponent Keene State College at 11:00 a.m. The Gulls get right back to work on Friday as they square-off with Stonehill College for the start of Homecoming Weekend at 5:30 p.m.
