Volleyball Stuns Emmanuel, 3-2

NEW LONDON, N.H. – Suffolk volleyball came back from a 2-1 deficit, capturing the fourth and fifth set to down Emmanuel in a five-set thriller Saturday afternoon at Colby Sawyer's Hogan Sports Center. The GNAC victory came via set scores 27-29, 26-24, 15-25, 25-14 and 15-5. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Emmanuel 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (13-5, 4-0 GNAC) | Emmanuel (5-11, 1-2 GNAC) 

SET ONE RECAP (29-27, EMMANUEL)

• Suffolk leaped out to a 7-1 advantage with the opening eight points featuring two aces from Emerson Martin and Hannah Fabiano's first of five first frame kills. 
• The Saints slowly chipped away at the Rams' advantage before using an 8-3 to level the playing field at 14-all. 
• Suffolk managed hold onto a slim edge until the Saints scored five unanswered points to go ahead, 20-19.
• It was a see-saw affair from there with four ties and a pair of lead swaps. The final switch fell in Emmanuel's favor, 25-24.  
• With set point looming, the teams went point-for-point until the Saints managed to score back-to-back to secure the set 29-27.  

SET TWO RECAP (26-24, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk, who trailed by as many as four early on, climbed back to even the score at 7-all. 
• The high intensity back-and-forth stanza stayed true for the majority of the action before Rams' rookies Harmony Johnson and Kenzley Bell recorded an ace and kill, respectively, to give the visitors a 14-12 edge. 
• Emmanuel used a timeout to stymie Suffolk and it worked as thing locked up again, for the ninth time, at 17-17 before the Saints went up by one, 18-17. 
• Suffolk used its own huddle as momentum, scoring three straight out of its huddle to grab a 25-24 advantage. 
• The Saints used their second time out of the set to slow the Rams down, but an Emmanuel error on the next point played in the blue-and-gold's favor to even the match's score at one-set apiece.  

SET THREE RECAP (25-15, EMMANUEL)

• Emmanuel's 13-7 cushion blossomed into a 19-12 advantage, which forced a Suffolk timeout. 
• The Rams never found their grove, however, and the Saints managed to take the frame by a double-digit distance, 25-15.  

SET FOUR RECAP (25-14, SUFFOLK)

• With the playing field knotted a 3-3, Suffolk scored five straight to gain an 8-3 advantage that turned into a lopsided 16-9 Rams' lead. 
• The blue-and-gold put the stanza out of reach behind another 5-0 run that made it a 22-11 Suffolk set. 
• After Emmanuel put up back-to-back points, Bell rattled off three consecutive points for the Rams with one kill and two aces to force the fifth frame. 

SET FIVE RECAP (15-5, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk grabbed a 4-0 lead that grew to an 8-2 set when the teams traded sides of the net. 
• The Rams easily maintained their margin to seal the deal in their favor.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Fabiano led the way on both sides of the net with a double-double effort of 22 kills and 14 digs with one ace to her credit. 
• Bell was also a contributor offensively and defensively with 19 digs, eight kills, seven assists, three aces and one block. 
• Johnson set up Suffolk's 50-kill offense with 37 handouts to go along with eight dights, four aces and two blocks. 
• Sarah Mullahy chipped in eight digs, three digs and three blocks.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk rattled off its third straight victory over Emmanuel to move to 3-15 all-time against the Saints. 
• The Rams improved to 4-0 in GNAC action, their best start to the conference calendar since match that number to begin the 2005 league ledger. 
• The victory marks Suffolk's fourth straight, the longest win streak in the Scott Blanchard era. The last time the Rams won four matches in a row was Sept. 12-19, 2017. 
• Fabiano notched a personal-best in kills (22). 
• Fabiano produced her 11th collegiate double-double, third of the season. 
• Jordan Smith had a personal-high in assists (1). 
• Stephanie Rheaume had a career-high three digs.

POST-MATCH PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up the GNAC tri-match this afternoon against Colby Sawyer.