Volleyball falls in ECAC final to Endicott 3-0

North Adams, MA- The top seeded Endicott College Gulls swept past the second seeded MCLA Trailblazers 3-0 to win the ECAC New England Division III championship this afternoon in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.  With the win, the Gulls finish the season with a mark of 24-10 while the Trailblazers finish at 24-11.

Endicott's Alleigh VandeMerkt was selected as the tournament's most outstanding player as she led the Gulls with 23 assists, 12 digs, and 5 aces in the championship match victory.

The Gulls earned set victories of 25-22, 27-25, and 25-16 to claim the crown.  The turning point of the match came in the second set as Endicott appeared poised to grab a 2-0 lead when they led 24-21 following an MCLA attack error.  The Trailblazers however, wouldn't go quietly as they rattled off four straight points to make it 25-24 in favor of MCLA.

Endicott responded though with a kill from Tori McIntyre and then the Trailblazers committed back to back errors to give the Gulls the set and an insurmountable lead.  They would cruise in the third set jumping out to a 21-9 lead and coasting to the ECAC Crown.

VandeMerkt wasn't alone in the stat column as Lauren Sheehan tallied 11 kills and 8 digs.  McIntyre ended with 8 kills and 11 digs along with a pair of aces.  Cydney Pierce led the defense with 14 digs.

For MCLA, they were paced by Allison Clark's 11 kills and 13 digs.  Angelica Perfido ended with 7 kills for the Trailblazers.  Courtney Parent tallied 17 assists, while Chanielle Enomoto had 15 digs and Brittney Pihl had 11.  Sam Anderson finished with 4 kills and 4 blocks.

The Trailblazers wrap up their best season in school history.  The 24 wins are a school record and the season included a 13 game winning streak, which was another program mark.  MCLA hosted both the MASCAC and ECAC New England championships for the first time ever as well.

The game marked the final contest for seniors Courtney Parent and Angelica Perfido, along with team manager Morgan McCarthy.