BEVERLY, Mass. – Paced by 14 kills apiece from junior Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) and sophomore Alex Dippel (Fallston, Md.), the Endicott College women's volleyball team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-0, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both squads.
With the win the Gulls improve to 7-5 overall (1-0 CCC) while the Leopards see their 11-match win streak to open the season come to a halt, falling to 11-1 (0-1).
Endicott took a 5-2 lead to open the first set before sophomores Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) and Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) combined for a block to make it 5-3. The Gulls used a 9-3 run to extend their lead to 14-6 and would take the first set, 25-13.
The teams traded the first six points of the second set before an attack error gave Wentworth a 4-3 lead. However, Endicott scored seven of the next eight points to take a 10-5 lead. Three straight points, capped off by an ace from Lassiter, pulled the Black & Gold with two at 10-8. The Gulls got the next three points back to make it 13-8 before a 4-1 run by Wentworth made it 14-12. Endicott extended its lead by scoring seven of the next nine points, however a Lassiter ace capped off a 5-2 spurt and pulled the Leopards within four at 23-19. An attack error and a kill ended the set for Endicott, which took a 2-0 lead with a 25-19 win.
Looking to extend the match, Wentworth used an 8-3 run to snap a 9-all tie and took a 17-12 lead on an ace from Lassiter. Endicott scored the next three points to pull within a pair at 17-15, however, the Leopards scored three in a row to build the lead back to five. Four straight Endicott points made it a one-point set at 20-19 but Wentworth scored four of the next six points to have set point at 24-21. The Gulls scored five straight points to close the match with the last four coming on Leopard errors.
Rogoz and sophomore Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.) each had eight kills and two blocks for the Leopards while Quick also had 10 digs. Senior Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.) chipped in with five kills, Lassiter had three kills, three aces, and two blocks, freshman Makenna Salsbury (Bel Air, Md.) had three blocks, sophomore Maddy Tomastik (Portland, Ore.) had 13 assists and six digs, freshman Kayla Chen (Irvine, Calif.) had 11 assists, and sophomore Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) had 10 digs.
Wentworth is at Western New England on Saturday.
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