Volleyball Grabs Five-Set Win at Albertus Magnus

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – For the second time in as many matches, Suffolk volleyball rallied and captured a 3-2 GNAC victory, this time taking down Albertus Magnus in five-set fashion Saturday afternoon at the Cosgrove Messier Athletic Center. The league triumph came via set scores of 20-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19 and 15-6. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Albertus Magnus 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (6-3, 2-0 GNAC) | Albertus Magnus (4-5, 0-2 GNAC)   

SET ONE RECAP (25-20, ALBERTUS MAGNUS)

• A 12-12 score held as the set neared the midway point. 
• Albertus Magnus roped together four consecutive points to gain a 17-15 edge. 
• The Rams rally did not come and the Falcons took advantage to claim a 21-18 lead. 
• Back-to-back kills from Rams' rookies Emerson Martin and Kenzley Bell cut the margin to one, 21-20. 
• The Falcons kept Suffolk's comeback at bay behind a 4-0 run that ended the set in their favor, 25-20.   

SET TWO RECAP (25-20, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk broke open a 6-all tie with a 6-2 stretch to gain an 11-8 edge. 
• Back-to-back points from the Falcons trimmed the margin back to one, but the Rams ran outscored the hosts 10-1 from there to stretch their cushion to 20-12.  
• Things remained interesting as Albertus Magnus rolled off four straight points to slice the distance to four, 20-16. 
• The conference counterparts went point-for-point the rest of the way and it landed in Suffolk's favor, 25-20.  

SET THREE RECAP (25-18, ALBERTUS MAGNUS)

• Suffolk's early 8-5 edge was not enough to hold off the Falcons, who put together five straight points to in front, 10-8. 
• That ran helped the Falcons hold onto a 16-14 lead at the midway point and grew to a 21-14 Albertus Magnus' frame behind a 5-0 spurt. 
• The blue-and-gold had too much ground to make up and the set landed in hosts' favor, 25-18.  

SET FOUR RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)

• Out of a 7-7 tie, kills from Kayla Barbera and Stephanie Rheaume pushed Suffolk in front, 9-7, forcing the Falcons to take a timeout. 
• The playing field would level again at 11, but another Rams' rally turned it into a 16-12 stanza for the blue-and-gold.
• Albertus Magnus fought back, however, and pulled within on, 19-18. 
• Suffolk held the Falcons off, outscoring the hosts, 6-1 the rest of the way to take the frame, 25-19, and force a fifth.   

SET FIVE RECAP (15-6, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk trailed 5-3 early on. 
• The Rams rolled from there with nine unanswered points to make it a lopsided 12-5 score in their favor. 
• From there, the only point the Falcons would score would result from a Rams attack error to break up the Suffolk scoring stretch. 
• After that, the blue-and-gold sealed the match with three quick points, including one kill from Sarah Mullahy and Stephanie Rheaume, respectively.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Barbrera notched a double-double effort of 14 kills and 11 digs to go along with two aces and one block. 
• Fabiano contributed 12 kills, nine digs, three aces, two blocks and one handout. 
• Bell had an all-around day with a 25-dig, 22-assist effort. The freshman was one kill shy of a triple double with nine to her credit along with one ace and one block. 
• Mullahy chipped in nine kills and two digs. 
• Harmony Johnson recorded 21 handouts and seven digs.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk won its eighth straight match versus Albertus Magnus to claim a 20-3 all-time lead in the series. 
• The Rams opened the conference calendar 2-0 for the first time since 2014. 
• Suffolk and Albertus Magnus went to five sets for the second time in the all-time series, first since 2017. The blue-and-gold owns both 3-2 victories. 
• The Rams strung together back-to-back five-set thrillers in successive matches for the first time since 1997. 
• Barbera's double-double was the second of the season and seventh time in her collegiate career. 
• Bell, who registered her first double-double in college, posted career-high numbers in kills (9), attack percentage (.500), and blocks (1).  

POST-MATCH PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk is back home Tuesday, Sept. 17 when it entertains Gordon at the Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. The non-conference clash is set for a 7p.m. firsts serve.