Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Trailing by two sets, the University of New England Nor'easters stormed back to take the final three and rally past Endicott College for a 3-2 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's volleyball victory Tuesday (Sep. 18) evening at MacDonald Gymnasium. Set scores were 23-25, 28-30, 25-19, 25-16, 15-13.

The win was the first for UNE over Endicott since the Nor'easters joined the CCC in 1999. Big Blue had dropped its last 17 decisions to the Gulls, with its last win coming during the 1998 season. UNE now stands at 6-3 overall this season, 1-1 in conference play. Endicott falls to 1-8 (0-2 CCC).

After dropping the first two sets by narrow margins (25-23, 30-28), UNE rebounded to square the match with triumphs in sets three and four. The deciding frame was tight throughout, with neither team holding a lead of more than two points until the final rally. With the score tied at 12, UNE junior Angie Brunette (North Andover, Mass.) gave the Nor'easters the lead for good at 13-12. Senior Paige Curran (Chelmsford, Mass.) finished things off with with a pair of kills, both set-up by junior Maria Kuehl (Middleton, N.H.).

Kuehl had 48 assists, 21 digs, seven kills and four service aces in a strong all-around performance. Sophomore Leah Janelle (Madbury, N.H.) led a balanced offense with 15 kills (just two errors in 31 total attacks), while Brunette was a force at the net with 14 kills and five solo blocks.

UNE also received strong performances from Curran (12 kills, 3 block assists) and senior Jillian Goldstein (Lynnfield, Mass.), who contributed 11 kills. Defensively, junior Kirsta Adie (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and senior Jackie Stone (Saginaw, Mich.) had 21 and 14 digs, respectively.

Endicott was paced by a match-best 16 kills from first-year Mackenzie Guerre (Carlsbad, Calif.) and 52 assists from classmate Alleigh Vandermekt (Riverside, Ill.).

The Nor'easters are off for seven days before returning to action next Wednesday (Sep. 26) when they host Wentworth Institute of Technology at 7 p.m.