CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - After putting up good fights against two quality teams on Friday night but coming up just short, the Endicott women's volleyball team rebounded well, claiming 3-1 victories over both Babson and Brandeis to move to 6-3 on the year.

 

With the 2-2 record, the Gulls finished seventh in the 12 team tournament after tie breakers (record in sets played of 8-8) broke up the the four-way tie for fifth place. Endicott will travel to Simmons on Wednesday before traveling to New London, Conn. to take on Coast Guard and Connecticut College.

 

Endicott pounced on Babson early, hitting .391 in the first set that saw the Gulls get out to an 18-4 lead before finally taking the set 25-12. The second saw a much closer affair as Endicott's offense cooled off a bit but the Gulls still pulled out a 25-22 set to climb ahead 2-0. Babson would charge back in the third, taking the set by a 27-25 score despite 13 Endicott kills before Endicott would edge out the fourth and final set, 25-23 to take the 3-1 win. Endicott is now 6-14 against Babson all-time as the Gulls have won the last two meetings.

 

• The Gulls once again saw junior Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) lead the team as she hit a team-best .400 and recorded a team-high 14 kills in the win. 
• Joining Sheehan with double-digit kills was outside Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Wash.) who picked up a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. It was the senior's second double-double of the young season as she went for 15 kills and 10 digs against Bates on Friday.
• Sophomore Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) chipped in nine kills as she hit at a .308 clip (9-1-26) while also playing solid defense, grabbing 10 digs.
• Freshman libero Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) picked up a team-best and career-best tying 18 digs in the win to go with three aces.
• Setters Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) and Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) combined for 45 assists and 29 digs as they ran an efficient offense that hit .227 for the match.

The Gulls would get off to a sluggish start in the first set against Brandeis, hitting .000 as a team with just eight kills as they fell behind 1-0 after losing the set 25-17. Endicott would then pull away by claiming the second and third by scores of 25-19 and 25-17 to go ahead 2-1. The Gulls would then claim a tight fourth, 25-20, behind a great offensive effort that saw the team post 13 kills and a .333 hitting percentage to take the match 3-1. Endicott improved to 6-14 agains Brandeis all-time and has taken the last four consecutive matches.

 

• Sheehan continued her impressive start to the 2016 campaign by registering a team-high 12 kills while she hit at a .318 clip. The outside also picked up six digs and two assist blocks.
• Clotfelter led the Gulls with 20 assists to go along with nine digs while Emma Jutras (Cranston, R.I.) collected a career-best 11 assists in the win.
• Senior Tori McIntyre was outstanding defensively, picking up a team-high 19 digs to add to three assist blocks and two aces.
• Sophomore Erica Hadad (Salem, N.H.) chipped in five kills and five assist blocks from the middle while fellow sophomore middle Emily DIezemann (Peabody, Mass.) chipped in four assist blocks.
• Freshman libero Mackenzie Kennedy was solid again, serving up three aces and picking up 16 digs.

Endicott travels to Simmons on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for a non-conference bout before traveling to New London, Conn. to take on Clark and Coast Guard on Saturday.