BEVERLY, Mass. – The top-seeded Endicott women's volleyball team defeated eighth-seeded Curry College, 3-0, by scores of 25-21, 26-24, and 25-19 to advance to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Semifinals on Tuesday night inside MacDonald Gymnasium.
Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) and Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) led the way for the Gulls as the duo combined for 30 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) also chipped in with nine putaways and three blocks (one solo), while Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) facilitated the offense with a team-high 24 assists alongside 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season.
Curry challenged Endicott in the first two sets, holding leads as late as 11-10 in the first and 24-23 in the second before the Gulls pulled away down the stretch in each one. In the second set specifically, Endicott used a kill from Clotfelter as she dumped the team's second touch quickly over the net to make it 24-24, while McIntyre powered home back-to-back kills to take the set, and give the Gulls all the momentum they needed to wrap up the match swiftly in the third, 25-19.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- McIntyre finished with 17 kills on 31 swings (.452), 13 digs, two assists, and one service to record her team-leading 13th double-double of the year.
- Mancini registered 13 kills on 33 swings (.303) to go along with seven digs, two services, and one assist.
- Both McIntyre and Mancini combined for 14 kills alone in set one.
- Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) had 17 assists and seven digs, while Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) compiled 11 digs, one assist, and a service ace.
- As a team, the Gulls notched 51 kills and hit .354 to remain unbeaten against Curry in program history (7-0).
- Endicott hit .285 or better in every set including a match-high .438 in the third.
- Tonight's match featured 10 lead changes and eight ties.
- Endicott has now won 20 or more matches in 12 seasons in program history.
FOR THE FOES
- Grace Stafford (West Yarmouth, Mass.) paced all student-athletes with 21 kills (.318) and 11 digs.
- Alyssa Keeney (Coventry, Conn.) guided the attack with a match-high 30 assists in addition to seven digs.
- Nicole Grambley (North Attleboro, Mass.) aided the offense with eight kills and nine digs, while Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) tallied six putaways of her own.
- Courtney Carroll (Fairhaven, Mass.) also collected a team-high 12 digs in the loss.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (20-11) will host fifth-seeded Salve Regina University (17-10) in the CCC Semifinal round on Thursday, November 3 at 7 p.m. Curry's 2016 season comes to a close at 10-14 overall.
(Game Recap Courtesy of Endicott College Sports Information)