Women's Volleyball Falls to Endicott in Five Set Thriller

MEDFORD, Mass. – Trailing by two sets, the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team won sets three and four to force a fifth set and nearly pulled off a comeback after trailing by as many as seven points in the deciding set, however Endicott held on for a 3-2 win in Conference of New England play Tuesday night.

With the win, the Gulls improve to 7-7 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Leopards stand at 11-4 (1-1).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Ava Rocchio and Riley Schoonmaker combined for a block and Rocchio followed with a kill to give Wentworth a quick, 2-0 lead. Endicott used a 14-3 run to take a 14-5 lead and upped its lead to 20-7 before Rocchio recorded a kill to start a 7-1 run and pull the Leopards to within seven (21-14). After the Gulls scored two straight to push the lead to 23-14, Mika Swanson put down a kill, which started a run of four straight points to make it 23-18. A pair of Endicott kills ended the set at 25-18.
• Wentworth took a 3-2 lead to open the second set before a 5-1 spurt gave Endicott a 7-4 lead. After the teams traded points, a service error started an 8-1 Leopard run and put the hosts on top, 13-9. The Gulls responded with three straight points to pull within a point at 13-12. After Wentworth took a 19-17 lead on a Schoonmaker kill, Endicott went on a 6-1 run and took the lead at 23-20. A Rocchio kill and an attack error brought Wentworth to within one at 23-22 but Endicott recorded back-to-back kills to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 win.
• Hitting .316 as a team in the third set, the Leopards cut the lead to 2-1 with a 25-23 win. Wentworth jumped out to a 4-1 lead and had a 7-3 advantage after a setting miscue by the Gulls. While Endicott came back to pull within a point at 9-8, Wentworth increased its lead to 15-10 when Swanson and Kate McLane combined for a block. After a McLane kill made it 20-16, the Gulls responded with wo straight points, however, three straight points, which included two kills from Sanders, made it 23-18. Endicott looked to close out the match, using a 5-1 run to pull within a point at 24-23 but an attack error gave the Black & Gold the set.
• Trailing 12-7 in the early part of the fourth set, Wentworth got a kill from McLane to start a 7-1 run, capped off by a Sanders kill to take the lead at 14-13. The teams traded points, which resulted in six ties, with the sixth coming at 19-all. McLane snapped the tie with a kill, and an error made it 21-19. The Gulls pulled back within a point, but a McLane kill sandwiched around a pair of Endicott errors made it 24-20. An Endicott kill brought the Gulls to within three at 24-21 but the visitors made an attack error, giving Wentworth a 25-21 win and tying the match at two sets apiece. The Leopards hit .333 as a team in the fourth set.
• McLane gave Wentworth a 1-0 lead to open the deciding set, but Endicott used a 9-2 run to race out to a 9-3 lead. Swanson recorded a kill to end the run however the Gulls responded with two straight points to up their lead to 11-4. A McLane kill started a 7-1 run which brought the hosts to within a point at 12-11. After an Endicott kill made it 13-11, the Leopards got a kill from Sanders and took advantage of an Endicott error to tie the set at 13-all. However, Endicott recorded back-to-back kills to take a 15-13 win and a 3-2 victory.
• McLane recorded 18 kills and three blocks, while Sanders also had double digits in kills with 10 to go along with a pair of blocks. Schoonmaker hit .600 (6-0-10) and had five blocks. Elena Davenport put down eight kills, while Rocchio and Swanson had five kills and four blocks apiece. Olivia Vaughn dished out 20 assists and had 21 digs, while Sydnee Smith had 16 assists. Amanda Zweifler had 23 digs.

THE SERIES:

• Tonight was the 30th all-time meeting between the two teams. Two of the last four meetings have gone five sets.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is at Gordon on Saturday.

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