Volleyball Sweeps CCC Weekly Awards
Suffolk women’s volleyball garnered its first-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) weekly awards and did so in sweeping fashion with all three honors going to a Ram. McKenna Keowen picked up both player and rookie of the week status, while Morgan Kesley was tabbed libero of the week, the league office unveiled Monday afternoon.
BIDDEFORD, Maine – Suffolk women's volleyball garnered its first-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) weekly awards and did so in sweeping fashion with all three honors going to a Ram. McKenna Keowen picked up both player and rookie of the week status, while Morgan Kelsey was tabbed libero of the week, the league office unveiled Monday afternoon.
The duo helped the Rams to a 2-1 week, which featured a sweep at UMass Boston and a five-set thrilling triumph over Lasell. Keowen and Kelsey each received their first collegiate weekly awards. The freshmen are the first Suffolk volleyball student-athletes to sweep all three league weekly awards in program history, according to the record books, which date through the 2011 season. The Rams garnered multiple awards for performances over a seven-day stretch for the first time since Sept. 9, 2013, when Tori Brillaud and Savannah Carpenter were named GNAC Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively.
Individually, Keowen is the first known player in program history to grab multiple weekly nods by a conference in the yearly annals. She is the second-ever Ram to take home rookie of the week status under Scott Blanchard's guidance, first since Harmony Johnson garnered her program-record fourth Oct. 28, 2019, and she is the first Suffolk player to pick up a player of the week nod since Brillaud was named the GNAC's top player Sept. 9, 2013. With the three awards this week, Suffolk has garnered seven weekly honors in the Blanchard era. Kelsey, meanwhile, is the first known Ram to pick up a weekly defensive title.
Keowen, who hails from San Ramon, California, contributed on both sides of the net with a 3.55 kills per set, swinging at a .246 clip, and 3.18 digs per set average. The outside hitter provided double-digit kills in 66 percent (2-3) of the blue-and-gold's matches, including a personal-best 22-kill effort versus in the five-set win over Lasell. In that win, she produced her third double-double effort of her collegiate career with 14 digs to her effort as well.
Kesley was the backbone to Suffolk's defensive unit. The libero from Parker, Colorado, registered double-digit digs in all three outings, starting with a 21-dig showing in a straight set sweep of UMass Boston. She followed that up with a 13-dig effort in the win over the Lasers and had 12 pickups in a setback to Eastern Nazarene. For the week, the rookie averaged 4.60 digs per set. She was a threat at the service line as well with 13 aces throughout the week.
Suffolk will now turn its attention to CCC competition as the Rams wrap up a three-match homestand Tuesday, Sept. 21 against Roger Williams. First serve at the Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m.