BEVERLY, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball team was unable to capture the 2021 Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship, as top-seeded Endicott took the title match 3-1 Saturday afternoon.
 
Hawk Highlights
Katherine Pickard: 19 kills, 5 digs, 1 assist, 1 solo block, 2 block assists, 1 service ace
Jaime Gaffga: 14 digs, 2 assists, 1 service ace
Kate Porter: 35 assists, 5 digs, 4 kills, 3 block assists
Allie Welch: 8 kills, 1 block assist
 
For The Opponents
Amanda Gilbert: 21 kills, 8 digs, 1 solo block, 2 block assists, 2 service aces
Riley Donohue: 15 kills, 12 digs, 1 solo block
Lauren McGrath 24 assists, 16 digs, 1 service ace
Colleen McAvoy: 6 kills, 4 digs, 3 assists, 3 service aces
 
How It Happened
Fresh off a stellar 3-0 win over Western New England in the CCC Semifinals, the Hawks maintained that momentum in the opening set against Endicott. Roger Williams kicked off the match on a 7-3 run, forcing the Gulls to call a timeout. Katherine Pickard (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was responsible for three of those points on two blocks and a kill. Endicott pulled within two (9-11) but an 8-1 Hawk run pushed RWU's advantage to nine, making it 19-10. The Gulls would not be fazed, rolling off a 10-0 run of their own to take a 20-19 lead. After a dump over the net by Kate Porter (Killingworth, Conn.) ended the run. RWU would take five of the last seven points for a 25-22 opening set win.
 
Endicott would get back on track in the second set, kicking off the game on an 8-3 run. The Hawks would stay in the game, eventually coming back and making it an 8-10 match. The Gulls would pull away with a 7-3 run to go up by six. The Hawks rallied late to make it 20-22, but Endicott took the last three points to tie the match up 1-1. Both sides hit well in the game, with Roger Williams posting a .333 hitting percentage, while Endicott hit at a .375 clip.
 
Roger Williams opened the third set with three straight points before Endicott tied up the match at five. From there, it would be a back-and-forth affair with RWU and EC trading points. The game turned in Endicott's favor with the game knotted at 11. Six straight Endicott points made it 17-11. RWU managed to come back within four (16-20) but the deficit was too much for the Hawks to overcome, with EC taking the set 25-18.
 
After a pair of Hawk points to begin the fourth set, Endicott went on a 9-1 run to take control. From there, the Gulls held on to the lead the rest of the way. Roger Williams managed to pull within two (9-11) before a 6-2 run brought the lead back up to six. Endicott scored the final six points of the match for a 25-15 win and the championship.
 
Roger Williams (11-11): Season Complete
Endicott (21-8): NCAA Tournament First Round TBA