GULLS SPOIL HOME OPENER FOR PRIDE

WESTON, Mass. – In a tightly contested match, Endicott College pulled out a 3-0 victory over Regis College on Tuesday night in New England Collegiate Conference men's volleyball action in Weston, Mass. The Gulls snap a six game losing streak to improve to 2-6 overall and 1-0 in the NECC, while the Pride fall to 2-5 and 0-1 in league games.

The opening set was a back and forth battle before a Pride error followed by a John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) kill put the Gulls on top, 11-8. Another Pride error kept it a three point match at 13-10, but Regis answered with a quick 3-0 spurt following a kill from Brandon Tordoff (Coventry, R.I.) and a pair of Gulls errors to tie the game at 13-13. This time the Gulls responded with three-straight points capped off by a Dan Seaver (Milford, Mass.) kill to take a 16-13 lead.

Regis chipped away and eventually jumped ahead at 18-17 following a block from Josiah Roque (Oxnard, Calif.) and Brett Krahl (Santa Clarita, Calif.). Trailing 19-18, the Gulls used back-to-back errors by the Pride to jump in front 20-19 and force a Regis timeout. Two-straight Osborne kills put EC on top, 22-19, and the Gulls held off a late Pride rally to hang on for the 25-23 win in the opening set.

The Pride took an early 5-2 lead in the second game on a block from Brandon Tordoff and Ryan Husher (Camarillo, Calif.). Endicott fought hard to keep it within 1-2 points, but the Pride eventually grabbed a 15-11 advantage on two-straight kills from Brett Krahl that forced a Gulls timeout.

Regis stretched it to a 17-11 lead following a Roque ace, but it would be short-lived as the Gulls answered with a 10-4 run of their own to tie the game at 21-all and force a Pride timeout. Out of the break, EC continued their hot run, ending the set with a 4-1 stretch to take the second game 25-22.

Set three started out all Endicott as the Gulls raced out to a 9-3 lead following a kill from Alex Wasik (Milford, Mass.). Another Osborne kill stretched the lead to 11-3, but the Pride rallied back as Regis used a 6-0 run, including kills from Husher and Krahl, to get back to 11-9.

Endicott tried to pull away, taking a three point advantage several times over the next few services, but the Pride continued to hang around and kills from Josiah Roque and Ryan Husher gave Regis their first lead of the third set at 16-15. The two teams traded points, until a Gull error followed by a Krahl solo block gave Regis a 21-19 lead and forced an Endicott timeout.

The Pride eventually had a chance to force a fourth game as they took a 24-21 lead following a Marcos Aguirre (Norwalk, Calif.) kill. Endicott's Osborne nailed a kill of his own and Ryan Sutherland (Fairport, N.Y.) had a solo block to cut the deficit to 24-23 and force a Pride timeout. The Gulls scored two of the final three points of the game on blocks to secure the 3-0 sweep of the Pride with the 26-24 win in the final game.

Marcos Aguirre led the Pride attack with 10 kills, while Ryan Husher added six kills and a team-high five digs. Brandon Tordoff and Josiah Roque added five kills apiece, while Brett Krahl had four kills and four blocks. Joe Hanrahan (Coventry, R.I.) dished out a team-high 26 assists and added an ace and a dig.

Endicott was paced by 20 kills from John Osborne, who also added six digs and three blocks. Dan Seaver chipped in eight kills, and Troy Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) had 33 assists, five kills, two digs, and two blocks. Daniel Toth (Vernon, N.J.) added three kills and four blocks.

The Crimson and Gold return to action on Saturday when they host Southern Vermont College and Emerson College in a tri-match starting at 11:00 a.m. The Gulls will take on Elms College on Thursday night in their home opener at 7:00 p.m.