Gulls end Seahawks' season with sweep in semis

BEVERLY, Mass. – Behind a match-high 17 kills from Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Player of the Year Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.), the second-seeded Endicott women's volleyball team defeated No. 3 Salve Regina, 3-0, in the semifinal round of the CCC Tournament on Thursday night at MacDonald Gymnasium. Set scores for the match were 25-21, 25-22, 25-17. 

Mancini powered the Endicott offense hitting .400 (17 K, 3 E, 35 TA) in the match to go along with four service aces and two digs. Meanwhile, Remi Quesnelle(Sunderland, Mass.) notched 12 kills on 31 swings (.258), while Lauren Sheehan(Bainbridge Island, Wash.) collected nine kills and Nicole Winkler(Southborough, Mass.) added eight putaways to highlight the offense. 

Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) also played a key role in the win as the sophomore setter dished out a match-high 45 assists. Gifford also compiled 11 digs and two service aces to record her team-leading 11th double-double of the season. 

Despite the sweep, tonight's match featured 19 tie scores and 11 lead changes. However, the Gulls never trailed in the match in any set after the score reached the 12-12 mark. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott improved to 20-4 overall in the all-time series against Salve Regina.
• The Gulls are 11-2 at home this season.
• Defensively, Endicott featured three student-athletes with double-digit digs including Gifford (11), Cydney Pierce (Carpinteria, Calif.) and Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsbo, Wash.) who logged 15 (match-high) and 10 digs, respectively. It marks the third time in a three-set match the Gulls have had three student-athletes record 10-plus digs in a match.
• Gifford recorded 40 or more assists for the seventh time in a match this season, and second time this year with 40 or more in a three-set sweep (9/16, 11/2). 

FOR THE SEAHAWKS

• Annie Donahue (Chelmsford, Mass.) led the Seahawks with 10 kills on 24 swings (.250).
• Samantha Higgins (Coventry, R.I.) added seven kills, while Kendall Wilcox (Pomfret, Conn.) and Cassidy Trabilcy (Phoenix, Ariz.)chipped in with six apiece.
• Samantha Salwa (Ellington, Conn.) registered 25 assists and eight digs.
• Trabilcy also had a team-high 12 digs, while Kathryn Linekin (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Morgan VanderBaan (Douglas, Mass.) had 11 and 10 digs, respectively. 

WHAT'S NEXT 

No. 2 Endicott (21-9) will take on No. 1 Roger Williams in the CCC Championship match this Saturday in Bristol, Rhode Island at 2:30 PM. No. 3 Salve Regina sees its season come to a close at 17-12 overall.