BEVERLY, Mass. - The MacDonald Gymnasium played host to a non-conference women's volleyball match between Endicott and Simmons on Wednesday night, and it was the host Gulls that picked up the 3-0 sweep of the Sharks to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
Endicott's defensive efforts limited the Simmons attack throughout the night as the visitors hit just .093 (33-22-118) in the match, do in large part to Endicott's six blocks and 52 digs. Leading the effort defensively were a trio of Gulls that reached the double-digit dig total in Lauren McGrath (Franklin, Mass.), Amanda Gilbert (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Alexandra Tecun (Hawthorne, Calif.). McGrath posted a match-high 13 digs while Gilbert and Tecun each finished with 10. Libero Emma Ruel (Duxbury, Mass.) finished just behind, picking up nine of her own in the sweep.
At the net, Colleen McAvoy (Coventry, Conn.) was dominant on both sides of the ball, posting a .444 average (4-0-9) to go with a match-high five blocks (2S-3A), while fellow graduate student Amanda Gilbert finished with a team-high nine kills on the night, to go with a match-high six aces. Senior Krystina Schueler (Trumbull, Conn.) finished the match with five kills and just one error on 15 swings, while freshmen Sophie Breitenbach (Newport, R.I.) and Kelsey Sanborn (Londonderry, N.H.) each closed the sweep with four kills.
McGrath dished out a team-best 15 assists to record her first double-double of the season (15 assists, 13 digs), while freshman Ella Koelb (Auburn, N.H.) finished with nine assists and five digs in two sets of play.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott is now 7-2 against Simmons all-time in the series.
- The Gulls gave the Sharks receive issues throughout the match, serving up 10 aces to just six errors.
- Gilbert's 15.5 points on the night were also a match-high.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott will play host to Bowdoin on Friday night at 6:00 PM for day one action of the MIT Invitational, while SImmons travels to Eastern Connecticut St. for a tri-match.
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