Men's Volleyball

SAINTS FALL TO ENDICOTT IN 1ST ROUND NECVA HEARTBREAKER

The 12th-seeded Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball Team took 5th-seeded Endicott College into five sets, before dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 decision in the opening round of the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Tournament.

Michael Townsend recorded 17 digs for the Saints

Michael Townsend recorded 17 digs for the Saints

April 9, 2010

Box Score

HYANNIS, Mass. - The 12th-seeded Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball Team took 5th-seeded Endicott College into five sets, before dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 decision in the opening round of the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Tournament. The 16-team tournament, hosted by the Hyannis Youth and Community Center, featured matches played simultaneously on dual courts. Emmanuel (27-11) and Endicott (27-7) traded sets, with the Saints taking the opener, 30-25. Endicott bounced back to win the second, 30-23. The Saints won the third, 30-27, and the Gulls matched with a 30-22 win in the fourth. Endicott won the match with a 16-14 decision in the fifth set thriller.

The Saints took an early 9-3 lead in set one, backed by several kills from Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.). Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) put a few away, before Matt Salvi (Trumbull, Conn.) and Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.) combined for a block to bring the spread to 19-15. The Saints held a solid five-point lead throughout the set and kicked off the match with a 30-25 set win.

Endicott charged out to an 11-8 lead in the second set and forced an Emmanuel timeout. Out of the break, the Saints bounced back and forged a 13-13 tie. However, Emmanuel was never able to mount any significant momentum in the set and the Gulls escaped with a 30-24 win.

The Saints rebounded in set three and posted an early four-point lead at 13-9. Following a Gulls timeout, Endicott came back and knotted the game at 17-all. Ensuing ties occurred at 19-all and 20-all. A huge block by Todd and a kill by Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) were part of a 4-0 Emmanuel-run to go up, 24-20. Two Endicott points and consecutive Abram kills pushed it to 26-22. The Gulls fought back, but big swings by Todd and Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) put the game away for the Saints at 30-27.

The Gulls found themselves up 14-11 in the fourth. They extended the lead to four points and forced an Emmanuel timeout at 16-12. Endicott then went up six points and the Saints called for their second timeout with the spread at 20-14. The Gulls tacked on three more points, before the Saints scored again on a Salvi kill to bring the score to 23-15. Endicott was strong throughout the fourth set and captured a solid 30-22 win, forcing a deciding fifth set.

The beginning stages of the fifth game featured strong blocking and incredible defensive plays by the Saints. Endicott held an 8-7 edge at the switch, but Emmanuel managed to tie things up at 9-all. Ties occurred again at 10-10 and 11-11, before the Gulls went up 13-12 and forced a Saints timeout. Unforced errors plagued Emmanuel down the stretch and Endicott capitalized, taking a 16-14 victory and a 3-2 match win.

A.J. Witkofsky led the Gulls, hitting .358 with 27 kills, 8 digs and 3 blocks. Zeke Kubisch added 17 kills and 7 digs, while John Emery chipped in with 14 kills and 3 blocks. Gulls setter Ben Foster dished out 68 assists and David Lowe gathered 13 digs for the victors.

Abram led Emmanuel with a match-high 32 kills, while hitting .411 for the match. Rietz played a solid match with a double-double of 18 kills and 12 digs, to go along with 3 blocks. McCaffrey hit .480 with 14 kills and a match-high 5 blocks. Senior libero Michael Townsend (Beaverdam, Va.) recorded 17 digs and setters Taylor Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) and Nick Updike (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) combined to dish out 72 assists for the Saints.