WENHAM, Mass. - The Endicott women's volleyball team split a tri-match on Saturday, losing to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe Gordon 3-1 and defeating Plymouth State 3-0, to close out the regular season. The split moves Endicott to 19-8 overall, and 8-1 in CCC play.
The loss to Gordon represents Endicott's first loss to a CCC opponent since the 2018 season as the Gulls were 8-0 in 2019, 9-0 in 2021, and were 8-0 heading into Saturday's match against the Scots. The two teams are now tied atop the CCC standings at 8-1 as the bracket for next week's women's volleyball tournament will be released this evening.
Against Gordon, Endicott claimed the first set 25-22 before falling 16-25, 15-25 and 19-25 in the next three for the first loss to the Scots since November 5, 2015. The Gulls were then able to rebound against the Panthers of Plymouth St., sweeping 3-0 by scores of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-16.
In the setback to Gordon, graduate Amanda Gilbert (West Falmouth, Mass.) led all players with 18 kills, hitting a team-high .371 after finishing with an 18-5-35 line. The outside also added five digs, two blocks and two aces for a match-best 21 points. Fellow outside Kelsey Sanborn (Londonderry, N.H.) posted seven kills and hit .312 (7-2-16), while graduate middle Colleen McAvoy (Coventry, Conn.) finished with seven kills, two aces and a team-best three blocks. Libero Emma Ruel (Duxbury, Mass.) tied for the match-high with 11 digs.
For Endicott's 3-0 sweep of Plymouth St., it was Gilbert again leading the Gulls' offensive attack, as she finished with a match-high 17 kills, which came on a season-high .469 average. Gilbert also chipped in eight digs in the sweep. Freshman opposite Sophie Breitenbach (Newport, R.I.) led the match with her .778 average after posting seven kills on nine error-free attempts, while adding two blocks. Fellow opposite Krystina Schueler (Trumbull, Conn.) finished with seven kills on 16 attempts with two errors to hit .312 in the victory.
Lauren McGrath (Franklin, Mass.) finished with 20 assists in the sweep, the highest mark in the match, while Ella Koelb (Auburn, N.H.) posed 15 of her own in the 6-2 offense. Ruel again led the team with 13 digs in the sweep, while Alexandra Tecun (Hawthorne, Calif.) added seven of her own.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott is now 21-16 all-time against Gordon as the Scots snapped Endicott's six-match win streak in the series.
- The Gulls are now 12-11 all-time against the Panthers as Endicott has claimed four of the last five meetings against Plymouth St.
- McGrath also led Endicott with 23 assists in the setback to Gordon.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (19-1, 8-1 CCC) and Gordon (14-12, 8-1 CCC) now await the release of the bracket for the upcoming CCC women's volleyball tournament, which is slated to be released later this evening. The quarterfinal round will be hosted by the four highest seeds on Tuesday night. Plymouth State (19-6, 7-1 LEC) awaits the release of the Little East tournament bracket.
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(Photo Credit - Ryan Atkins '23)
