Volleyball Slips to Framingham State in Five Sets

BOSTON – Suffolk volleyball took Framingham State the distance, but could not hang on for the victory in the long run as the visiting Rams outlasted the Boston Rams in a five-set thriller Thursday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. The setback came by set scores 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 23-25 and 15-13. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 2 | Framingham State 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (8-4) | Framingham State (8-4)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-17, FRAMINGHAM STATE)

• Things remained close early on with FSU owning the slid edge, 7-4. 
• Suffolk started to get hot behind a Grace Cervenka kill. The freshman's first point of the night jump started a 4-0 Boston Rams' rally that gave the host a 9-8 lead. 
• The visiting Rams put up four unanswered to force Suffolk to play catchup once again, 12-9. 
• Momentum stayed in FSU's favor as it built its cushion to 19-13. 
• Suffolk used its second timeout of the set in an attempt.
• Out of the huddle a see-saw affair ensued and Framingham State managed to lock up the frame, 25-17.  

SET TWO RECAP (25-18, FRAMINGHAM STATE)

• A 6-0 stretch by FSU put Suffolk in a 9-4 hole. 
• That distance grew to as many as eight twice, with the last at 16-8. 
• The host Rams trimmed matters in half to thanks to 5-2 spurt that was capped off by back-to-back kills from Jasmine James.
• A Framingham State timeout stalled Suffolk's comeback. 
• The visitors gained composure in the 1:15 break and the teams payed evenly the rest of the way, which allowed FSU to take the set, 25-18.   

SET THREE RECAP (25-23, SUFFOLK)

• It was Suffolk's turn to start out hot as the host scored the first four points. 
• Framingham State clawed back and leveled the playing field at 6-all and jumped ahead, 8-6.
• The score would lock four more times with the last at 20-all. 
• Isabelle Huzar and James combined for a block that pushed Suffolk in front, 21-20. 
• Cervenka sent a kill home to pad the margin to a pair. That forced FSU into a timeout.
• Kills from James and Cervenka set-up set point. 
• FSU would not go down without a fight. The visitors coupled two quick points to make things interesting, 24-23. 
• Scott Blanchard used a timeout to calm his squad down. The huddled helped as Cervenka sent home a kill, her seventh of the frame and 12th of the night, to grab the set for the host.  

SET FOUR RECAP (25-23, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk led for the majority of the set. 
• Framingham State started to catch up towards the end and equalized matters at 21. 
• Emily Wheeler knocked down two consecutive kills out of a Suffolk timeout to restore a two-point gap. 
• FSU kept the blue-and-gold on its toes and made it a 24-23 set. 
• Another timely timeout was called by Blanchard paid off as Alina Nowakowski kill put the set away. 

SET FIVE RECAP (15-13, FRAMINGHAM STATE)

• The third and fourth sets foreshadowed the fifth and deciding frame. 
• FSU grabbed a 4-0 lead early. 
• Suffolk surged back and tied it up at 7-all. 
• From there, the score evened twice more with the last at 12-all. 
• James knocked down a kill to put the host ahead, 13-12. 
• The visiting Rams rattled off three points in a row to secure the win.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Cervenka registered a 14-kill, 10-dig double-double with one block, one ace and one assist on her stat line. 
• James hammered home the attack with a team-high 16 on a .237 swinging clip. 
• Harmony Johnson and Jayla Martinez split time as Suffolk' setter with 26 assists and 25 assists, respectively. 
• Kenzley Bell's 21 digs anchored the defensive unit that received 13 digs from Tatum Kalt. 
• At the net, James had six blocks, while Huzar notched seven to go along with five kills.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Framingham State will play in a five-set for the first time in the all-time series. 
• Suffolk moved to 2-14 all-time against Framingham State. 
• The Boston Rams and FSU met for the first time since 2018. 
• As the home team, Suffolk moved to 2-3 against Framingham State. 
• Cervenka logged her first collegiate double-double. 
• Cervenka matched a career-best in kills (14) and set a new career-high in digs (10). 
• James produced a career-high in kills (16) and blocks (6). 
• Huzar had a personal-best seven blocks.  
• Chloe Clement notched a career-high six digs and tied a personal-best one block.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk has its first home tri-match scheduled for this Saturday, Sept. 24 with Endicott and UMass Boston stopping by Smith Court. The Rams and Gulls are set to play in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at 11 a.m. with the Boston battled on tap for 3 p.m.