Oct. 30, 2007
BEVERLY, MA - The top-seeded Endicott College women's volleyball team held off a strong effort by No. 8 Eastern Nazarene to advance in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament on Tuesday night in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Eastern Nazarene jumped out to a big 6-1 lead to open game one. The Crusaders continued rolling, building a 14-7 advantage to force the Gulls to burn a timeout. Endicott responded by taking ten of the next 13 points, evening the game at 17-all. The Gulls began pulling away as Brittany Phillips (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln Sudbury) buried a kill on the near side to put the Blue and Green up 27-21. From there, the Gulls coasted to a 30-22 game one victory.
In game two, it was Endicott who took a commanding 6-1 lead early. The Gulls were consistent upfront as the Blue and Green surged to a 22-14 lead, forcing the visitors to call a timeout. EC's Hayley Janelle (Madbury, NH/Oyster River) notched a kill at the Endicott net, giving the Gulls a 26-18 advantage. Endicott was too strong for the Crusaders in game two, taking a 30-20 decision.
Both the Gulls and the Crusaders traded points in the opening moments of game three, as each team attempted to build a lead. Endicott took a two point lead as Steph Wiese (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) snuck a nifty shot into the back left corner, putting the Gulls up 10-8. Eastern Nazarene tied the score at 12-all as Cassandra Auguste (Montgomery Village, MD/Watkins Mill) connected on an impressive kill to even the game. Endicott's Brittany Nolan (Monroe, CT/Masuk) rallied the Gulls with a serving run that resulted in an 18-15 lead for the home team. Following an ENC timeout, the Crusaders recorded six of the next eight points, taking a 21-20 lead. Eastern Nazarene would extend that advantage to three, however the Gulls quickly erased the deficit to even the game at 24-24. Consecutive Endicott miscues opened the door for the Crusaders and they took advantage, winning game three, 30-27.
Endicott opened game four by doubling-up the visitors, 10-5. Steph Wiese extended the Gulls lead to six as she took a nice feed from Meghan Hall (Santa Cruz, CA/Aptos) and powered home a kill to give EC a 16-11 advantage. Hayley Janelle put the Gulls up 10 as she found the back right corner, making the score 23-13. The Gulls closed out the game on an ace by Meghan Hall, taking the match with a 30-17 game four victory.
Eastern Nazarene was led by Cassandra Auguste's 10 kills. Allison Aupperlee (Quincy, MA/North Quincy) contributed nine digs while Christina Ludwick (Meredith, NH/Laconia Christian) dished out nine assists in the losing effort.
Endicott was paced Steph Wiese's 14 kills and three aces. All-TCCC First Team selection Hayley Janelle had 13 kills while fellow First Teamer Meghan Hall handed out 41 assists. Conference Honorable Mention Brittany Nolan had 22 digs for the Gulls.
Endicott returns to action on Thursday evening as they will host \#5 Roger Williams University. The Hawks upset the University of New England on Tuesday, 3-1. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Beverly, Massachusetts.
