Men's Volleyball

SAINTS POST STRONG SHOWING AT ENDICOTT INVITATIONAL

The Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball Team went 2-2 over the weekend at the highly competitive Endicott College Invitational. Curtis Abram was named All-Tournament Team Honorable Mention for the Saints.

Curtis Abram

Curtis Abram

Feb. 20, 2010

Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball Team went 2-2 over the weekend at the highly competitive Endicott College Invitational. For the first time since starting the tournament nine years ago, the Endicott College Gulls captured the tournament title by posting a perfect 4-0 weekend record that was capped off by a thrilling 3-2 win over MIT. The Gulls' A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y.) was named Tournament MVP while teammate Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y.) joined him and five others players from different institutions on the All-Tournament Team. For the Saints, Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) was named All-Tournament Team Honorable Mention.

The Saints opened the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Hilbert College. Emmanuel College received nine kills from Alex McKeen (Stoughton, Mass.) and eight kills apiece from Alex Petty (Wayland, Mass.) and Matt Salvi (Trumbull, Conn.). EC also got 38 assists from Nick Updike (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) while McKeen added eight digs and Jim Sutherland (Concord, Calif.) recorded six digs of his own in three games played. Petty and Zach Caron (Hope, R.I.) combined for eight total blocks in the win.

Hilbert College was led by nine kills from RJ Sykora (Stow, Ohio) and six kills from Dan Wolfe (Rochester, N.Y.). Vince Amico (Buffalo, N.Y.) added 23 assists and nine digs while Adam Clabo (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) chipped in with seven digs.

In the Saints' second match, Emmanuel faced host Endicott College in a re-match of the five-set battle which took place at Emmanuel on January 16th. The Gulls were victorious in the re-match, capturing a 3-1 win, paced by A.J. Witkofsky's (Scotia, N.Y.) monster game with 25 kills and 10 total blocks. James Sliva (Monroe, Conn.) and John Emery (Westford, Mass.) each added eight and seven kills apiece, while Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y.) handed out a game-high 50 assists and chipped in with five total blocks. Andrew Slocum (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) registered a game-high 12 digs and Jeremy Schlosser (Emmaus, Pa.) had seven of his own in the win.

Emmanuel had three players record double-digit kills, as Abram, Michael Townsend (Beaverdam, Va.) and Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) registered 20, 16 and 12 kills, respectively. Sean O'Connor (Hampstead, N.H.) and Taylor Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) combined to hand out 50 assists, while Rietz and Townsend each added seven and six digs apiece. Tom McCaffrey (Massapequa) had four total blocks, while Rietz recorded three total blocks.

On day two of the tournament, the Saints knocked off 13th-ranked New Paltz, 3-1, defeating the Hawks for the second time this season. Abram had 27 kills, while hitting .548 and added five aces to lead Emmanuel. Rietz also had a big game for EC as he had 17 kills while hitting .538 and added three total blocks. Townsend tallied nine kills and a team-high 11 digs, while Lowe dished out 31 assists and gathered eight digs for the Saints.

The Saints then faced the 12th-ranked Roadrunners of Ramapo College in the final match of the tournament. Ramapo topped Emmanuel in three hard-fought sets, 34-32, 30-24, 30-28. Steve Vahalla (Bloomfield, N.J.) and Jeff Elsasser (Barnegat, N.J.) each tallied 13 kills for the Roadrunners. Matt Scott (Edison, N.J.) handed out 43 assists and had seven total blocks while Kurt Backlund (Old Bridge, N.J.) and Eddie Rossiter (Edison, N.J.) added 12 and eight digs each, respectively. Paul Konopacki (Monroe Township, N.J.) led the Roadrunners with a game-high eight total blocks.

Emmanuel was once again led by Abram and Rietz, who posted 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Lowe handed out 25 assists, while Rietz and Townsend tied for the team-lead in digs with six apiece. Tom McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) notched a team-high five total blocks in the setback.

The Saints are now 13-6 overall and remain 7-1 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. Emmanuel will play at Mount Ida College this Wednesday evening (2/24) in the GNAC battle slated to begin at 7pm.

-Courtesy of Endicott College Sports Information