Volleyball Takes Down Albertus Magnus in Straight Sets

BOSTON – Suffolk volleyball closed its non-conference chapter of the 2022 season in sweeping fashion as the Rams soared past the Falcons of Albertus, 3-0, Thursday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. The victory came via set scores 25-9, 25-13 and 25-20. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Albertus Magnus 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (16-9) | Albertus Magnus (6-19)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-9, SUFFOLK)

• From the get go Suffolk scored the first seven points of the night. That opening-match stretch was powered by Alina Nowakowski, Jasmine James and Jayla Martinez. Martinez had two aces, while Nowakowski and James paired up for two blocks and each recorded a kill to get things going. 
• Things looked to even out after the Falcons used a timeout until Emily Wheeler knocked down a kill. 
• The captain's kill jump started another Rams rally, this time in the form of a 6-0 run that made it an 18-5 frame in the host favor. 
• Albertus Magnus looked to find its grove out of its second time out of the set and trimmed the distance down to 10, 19-9. 
• Suffolk took over from there as it closed the set with six straight points. That spurt aw Martinez serve three aces, Jess Weber grab a kill and the twosome of Nowakowski and James partner for their third block of the night.  

SET TWO RECAP (25-13, SUFFOLK)

• The Rams clung to the lead, 7-6. 
• Suffolk started to figure things out and jumped ahead by six, 13-7. 
• The Falcons sliced the gap in half thanks to the serving of Peyton Davis, who's back-to-back aces made it a 13-10 set. 
• McKenna Keowen ignited a 5-0 run by the Rams that push the blue-and-gold's advantage to 18-10. In that stretch, Grace Cervenka supplied a kill and Morgan Kelsey notched an ace. 
• The back-and-forth game ensued as Albertus Magnus responded with three points in a row of its own to pull back within six, 18-13. 
• That's as close as the Falcons would get as the blue-and-gold scored seven straight to claim the frame. 

SET THREE RECAP (25-20, SUFFOLK)

• Out of a 5-all playing field, Suffolk rattled off five points in a row to take a 10-5 cushion. 
• The Rams remained in front at the midway point, 15-7. 
• Albertus Magnus did not go down without a fight and made things interesting when it made it a four-point set, 21-17. 
• Suffolk scored back-to-bac points to restore a comfortable margin, 23-17. 
• The Falcons responded with three points of their own to really make things interesting, 23-20. 
• Thankfully, the blue-and-gold figured things out and kills by Isabelle Huzar and Wheeler locked up the set.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Keowen's six kills paced an ever 38-kill attack that saw every player how tried an attack record a kill. The sophomore added nine digs, four aces, and two assists to her all-around effort. 
• Cervenka chipped in six kills as well. 
• Wheeler and Huzar finished with five kills each. 
• Martinez put together a 14-assist, seven-ace, four-dig, two-kill effort. 
• Kelsey's 11 digs paced the defense that received seven digs from Tatum Kalt and three blocks each from James and Nowakowski.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk moved to 22-3 all-time against Albertus Magnus. 
• The Rams won their 10th match in a row versus the Falcons. That win streak features six sweeps, one four-set victory and a pair of five-set thrillers. 
• A dozen of the Rams victories over the Falcons have come in 3-0 decisions, including tonight's. 
• The Rams are unbeaten versus the Falcons in the Scott Blanchard era, 4-0. 

POST-MATCH PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk has no time off as it heads to Curry tomorrow, Friday, Oct, 21 for a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest at 6 p.m.