Statistics

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Hadley Helenbrook had a double-double of 15 kills and 13 digs to lead Endicott College past the University of New England, 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-20), in Conference of New England women's volleyball action at MacDonald Gymnasium on Wednesday evening (Nov. 5).

The Gulls (14-11) keep pace with the three-way tie atop the league standings at 8-1, heading into the regular season finale this weekend. To keep their postseason hopes alive, the Nor'easters (11-12, 4-5) will have a must-win home contest against the University of Hartford (2-7 CNE) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Helenbrook posted a hitting percentage of .323 with her match-best kills total for the hosts, while adding three aces. Ava Grace Dresback had 12 kills, mostly with the help of Hannah Maguire, who put up 32 assists to go with four aces. Abby Downs picked up 15 digs.

UNE received nine and eight, respectively, from Ellijah Hanley and Hannah Nowell. On the back end, Chloe Miracle collected 15 digs, and Kelsey Bradshaw saved 10 more.

There were five lead-changes and 10 ties during the opening frame, and a pair of kills from Nowell gave the Nor'easters a 19-16 edge -- equaling the largest spread of the set by either side. But Helenbrook had kills on four of the next eight points to flip the margin for the Gulls.

An 11-1 stretch by EC built an 18-6 cushion in the 2nd; while UNE soon notched seven in-a-row (19-14), the hosts registered the next six to take control. The Nor'easters bounced back to hold early advantages in the 3rd (8-5, 10-8, 11-9), but it wasn't long before back-to-back kills from Helenbrook established the lead for good for the Gulls. The visitors were still right there at 20-19, just couldn't quite get over the hump to extend the match.