Blue Volleyball Falls To Endicott, Wesleyan To Close Out Wellesley Invite

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Following a pair of victories on Saturday, Ithaca College finished with a perfect 3-0 record on the weekend to capture the title at the 2016 Wellesley College Volleyball Invitational. Wesleyan University went 1-1 on Saturday, earning two victories in the tournament to move to 11-6. Endicott also split on Saturday and is now 15-11. The host Blue went winless on the weekend, dropping to 11-12 on the season.

Endicott 3, Wellesley 2

Endicott overcame a slow start to snag a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Wellesley, 14-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13. Alex Dippel (Fallston, Md.) led the Gulls with 14 kills, followed by Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) with 10. Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) anchored the Endicott back row with 17 digs, while Rasa Hamel (Clinton, Conn.) led the Endicott blockers with five. Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) and Mareena Clotfelter (Poulsto, Wash.) shared the setting duties, combining for 40 assists in the win. 

Four Wellesley players tallied double-digit kills, led by Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) with 18. Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.) tallied 15 kills, followed by Alex Kew (Winchester, Mass.) with 11 and Kennedy Ulfig (Saline, Mich.) with 10. Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) picked up a career-high 31 digs, while Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) distributed 48 assists in the loss.

Ithaca 3, Wesleyan 2

Ithaca rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat Wesleyan 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-9). Katie Evans (Westerville, Ohio) paced the Bombers with 14 kills, followed by Taylor McCarthy (Pawling, N.Y.) with 11 and Joelle Goldstein (King's Park, N.Y.) and Amanda Cerruti (West Islip, N.Y.) with nine each. Cerruti tallied eight blocks, while Kayla Gromen (Lancaster, Penn.) and Caitlyn Floyd (Mahwah, N.J.) recorded 23 and 22 assists, respectively.

Mia Hogan (Belmont, Calif.) and Stasie Litinsky (Evanston, Ill.) led the Cardinal attack with 12 kills apiece, followed by Gabby Bennett (Chicago, Ill.) and Nicole Hilton (Wantagh, N.Y.) with eight each. Audrey Konow (Chicago, Ill.) led the setting crew with 17 assists, while Kaira Muraoka-Robertson (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Kelsey Tam (Basking Ridge, N.J.) added 12 and 11 assists, respectively. 

Ithaca 3, Endicott 0

Ithaca swept Endicott in the only three-set match of the day (25-20, 25-15, 25-19), hitting .338 as a team while holding the Gulls to .095. McCarthy led the Bomber attack with eight kills, followed by Floyd and Cerruti with seven apiece. Evans and Caroline Gerulskis (Southborough, Mass.) each recorded five blocks for the Bombers, while Floyd and Gromen combined for 25 assists in the win. 

Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) led the Gulls with eight kills, followed by Sheehan with six. Clotfelder recorded 16 assists and Gifford added 13.

Wesleyan 3, Wellesley 2

Wesleyan rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Wellesley (22-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-7). The Cardinal middles dominated the attack, as Bennett hammered 10 kills and Hilton pounded nine. Hilton also recorded eight blocks in the match. Madeleine Lundberg (Newton, Mass.) and Kailee Chimento (New Rochelle, N.Y.) added nine kills and eight, respectively. Olivia Guidotti (Orinda, Calif.) led all players with 25 digs. Muraoka-Robertson dished out 37 assists in the win.

Shoop led the Wellesley offense with 13 kills followed by Samantha Ostenso (Hopkins, Minn.) with nine and Ulfig and Li with eight apiece. Li distributed 39 assists in the loss.

Ithaca returns to action Tuesday, October 18, when they host SUNY Oneonta at 6:00 PM. Wellesley takes the court on Tuesday as well, hosting Smith at 7:00 PM. Endicott will travel to Western New England on Wednesday for a 7:00 PM match. Wesleyan is off until Friday, October 21, when they host Connecticut College in NESCAC action.

2016 Wellesley Volleyball Invitational

Friday, October 14, 2016
Ithaca 3, Wellesley 0
Wesleyan 3, Endicott 1 (MacDonald Gym - Beverly, Mass.) 

Saturday, October 15, 2016
Endicott 3, Wellesley 2
Wesleyan 3, Wellesley 2
Ithaca 3, Wesleyan 2
Ithaca 3, Endicott 0 

Final Standings
Ithaca 3-0
Wesleyan 2-1
Endicott 1-2
Wellesley 0-3