WESTON, Mass. – Regis College stole the opening set, 26-24, for an early 1-0 lead, but Endicott College rallied for three-straight 25-14 set wins as the Gulls defeated the Pride, 3-1, on Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's volleyball action in Weston, Mass. The Gulls move to 12-8 overall and 7-1 in the NECC, while the Pride fall to 8-8 and 2-4 in league games.
The Pride took their first ever game from the Gulls, after dropping 27-straight sets dating back to the 2009-2010 season.
Regis took an early 8-6 lead in the first set before five-straight points by the Gulls gave Endicott a short-lived 11-8 lead. The Pride took advantage of a pair of Gull errors and a Zach Sindoni (Haverhill, Mass.) kill to knot the game at 12-12. The two teams traded points before Endicott grabbed a 17-15 lead on a kill from Brennan Lowe (Malibu, Calif.). Regis responded with five-straight points including kills from Joe Coye (Plaistow, N.H.) and Sean Bisnett (Oxnard, Calif.), as well as a Coye solo block and a Jon Fuentes (Downey, Calif.) service ace to take a 20-17 lead.
Endicott answered with three-straight points of their own on a pair of John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) kills and a Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) service ace. Regis held a slim 22-20 lead following a Sean Bisnett ace, but another Osborne kill and a Pride error tied the game at 22-all. The game was tied late at 24-24, and Sindoni gave the Pride a 25-24 lead with a kill and Bisnett wrapped up the set with a kill of his own that landed just inside the sideline as Regis took the opening set, 26-24.
The Gulls wasted no time responding in the second game as they grabbed an early 10-4 lead following a Pride service error. Brennan Lowe put EC on top 15-9, before the Pride made a small push with kills from Sindoni and Manny Calderon (Bristol, Conn.) to cut the deficit to 15-11. Endicott was undeterred as the Gulls scored 10 of the final 14 points en route to the 25-14 win, and tied the match at one set apiece.
The third set started out much the same as Endicott built an early 8-1 lead following a Josh Anderson (La Canada, Calif.) kill. Regis would claw its way back into the match, scoring four-straight points to make it a 14-12 game after a block by Coye and Sindoni, but that would be as close as the Pride would get as the Gulls ended the third game on an 11-2 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Regis only trailed 7-5 in the fourth game following a kill by Sean Bisnett, but Endicott would score six of the next seven points, capped off by back-to-back kills by Anderson, that gave the Gulls a 13-6 advantage. A Coye block and a Bisnett ace made it a 13-8 game, and another Bisnett kill later would keep it a five point game at 14-9, but the Gulls rattled off five-straight points to take a 19-9 lead and force a Regis timeout. The Pride would only get as close as 20-11 the rest of the way as the Gulls held on for the 25-14 win.
The Pride were led by 14 kills from Zach Sindoni, while Joe Coye and Sean Bisnett each added 12 kills in the setback. Coye added three total blocks and Bisnett had a team-high three service aces. Jon Fuentes led the Pride defense with six digs on the night. Joe Hanrahan (Coventry, R.I.) recorded 35 assists, setting a new Pride record for assists in a season with 316 helpers in 2014.
Endicott had three players reach double-figures in kills led by John Osborne's 15 kills, seven digs and three service aces. Brennan Lowe added 12 kills, while Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.) had 10 kills and a match-high seven blocks in the win. Tyler Bacon (Cypress, Calif.) dished out a match-high 46 assists on the night, and Aaron Jessee (Okinawa, Japan) posted a game-high 11 digs. The Gulls hit .471 as a team, as Lowe hit .706 and Coniglione swung .545 with seven kills.
Regis returns to action on Saturday afternoon when the Pride travels to Newbury College for a 12:00 p.m. NECC matchup with the Nighthawks. Endicott travels to Lesley University next Wednesday for an 8:00 p.m. league game.