Volleyball Sweeps Lesley

BOSTON – For the first time since 2013, Suffolk volleyball downed Lesley and did so in sweeping fashion Thursday night as the Rams bested the Lynx, 25-11, 25-20 and 25-16 at the Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Lesley 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-3) | Lesley (0-3)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-11, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk scored the first five points of the night, four of which came on kills, to force Lesley to use its first timeout early. 
• After the Rams piled on two more points, the Lynx managed to get on the board, but were not match for the blue-and-gold, who quickly built a double-digit distance, 13-3. 
• Lesley used its second timeout of the set to stymie the hosts. Suffolk did not lose momentum out of the huddle as its 10-point lead blossomed to 14, 20-6. 
• The Lynx made a push, but only managed to get as close as 12 as Suffolk kept things on cruise control to take the set, 25-11. 

SET TWO RECAP (25-20, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk fell behind early, clawed back to knot the score four times, before a monster kill from Sarah Mullahy grabbed a 7-6 lead. 
• Despite building a two-point cushion, twice, the Rams' edge was shortlived as the Lynx leveled the playing at 10. 
• The foes went point-for-point until Lesley found its grove, strung four straight and put the blue-and-gold in a 17-13 hole. 
• The Rams responded with a 3-0 run of their own to make it a one-point set, 17-16. 
• Mullahy put the team on her back out of Lesley timeout as the senior captain rattled off three straight kills to flip the switch in Suffolk's favor, 19-18. 
• Out of another break called by the Lynx, Kayla Barbera's kill broke open a 19-all tie before Hannah Fabiano took control from the service line with three aces in a row to make it 23-19 in the Rams' favor. 
• Suffolk scored two of the final three points on a kill from Emerson Martin and Barbera to take the stanza, 25-20, and a 2-0 match advantage. 

SET THREE RECAP (25-16, SUFFOLK)

• Out of a 5-5 tie, the Rams rolled off five consecutive points capped off by back-to-back aces from Mullahy to jump ahead, 10-5. 
• The five-point lead was not enough to keep the Lynx at bay as they came back to lock the score at 13-13. 
• A Rams' 4-0 run put the hosts in front, 17-13.
• From there, Suffolk outscore Lesley, 8-3 to secure the frame, 25-16 and match.   

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Suffolk's 41-kill attack was well balanced. 
• Mullahy's nine-kill effort came on a .471 connection rate. She added three aces and one assist to the offense to go along with one block. 
• Barbera matched Mullahy's kill output with nine of her own, hitting .333. Defensively she had seven digs to go along with two handouts and one ace. 
• Fabiano contributed eight kills, seven digs and three aces. 
• Kenzley Bell had an all-around day with a 31-assist, seven-dig, six-kill performance on an impressive .600 attack percentage. 
• Martin supplied five kills, one block, one ace and one dig. 
• Dakhensey Marcellus'15-dig effort anchored the defense.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Lesley renewed a rivalry, meeting for the first time since 2015. 
• The Rams defeated the Lynx for the first time since 2013 and fourth time overall. 
• All four of Suffolk's victories over Lesley have come in straight sets. 
• Suffolk moved to 4-6 since 2007 versus the Lynx. 
• Bell produced career-best numbers in assists (31) and kills (6).  

POST-MATCH PIC
 

LOOKING AHEAD
Suffolk readies for its GNAC opener, a tri-match at Albertus Magnus featuring Lasell Saturday, Sept. 14. The Rams will first face the Lasers at 1 p.m., before taking on the Falcons at 3 p.m.