Volleyball Storms Past in UNE, 3-0

BOSTON – Suffolk volleyball fell behind early in the first frame, came back and never looked back as it defeated the University of New England in straight sets Tuesday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory, the Rams' fifth straight win, four consecutive sweep, came via set scores 25-19, 25-12 and 25-19. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | University of New England 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (18-9, 5-3 CCC) | University of New England (6-15, 2-6 CCC)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)

• It was a slow start for Suffolk as UNE put up the first seven points of the night. 
• The seven-point gap stayed in the Nor'Easters favor at the midway point, 13-6. 
• Jess Weber started a 4-0 Rams rally that pulled the host within four, 14-10, and forced the visitors into a timeout. 
• UNE may have scored the first point out of the huddle, but it was all blue-and-gold from there as Suffolk scored five in a row to level the playing field at 15-all. 
• Harmony Johnson's first ace of the night knotted the set. The senior went on to serve two more to push the Rams in front, 17-15. 
• See-saw action ensued before back-to-back kills from Alina Nowakowski and McKenna Keowen gave the Rams a four-point, 22-18, edge. 
• Suffolk outscored the guest 3-1 out of UNE's second timeout to lock up the set. That set-ending stretch featured an ace from Emily Wheeler and kills by Nowakowski and Weber.  

SET TWO RECAP (25-12, SUFFOLK)

• Down 3-1, Suffolk battled back to take the lead, doing so on a huge Jasmine James kill, her third of the night. 
• The Rams continued to build its advantage and made a 12-7 cushion that forced UNE to use a timeout. 
• The Nor'Easters look to catch up out of the break and managed to put together a 3-1 run. 
• Suffolk controlled the pace of play from there with five points in a row to lengthen the lead to eight, 18-10.
• The blue-and-gold did not lose momentum out of UNE's final timeout of the frame as the Rams sealed the set behind a 7-2 spurt. That rally saw two kills from James with Grace Cervenka, Keowen and Nowakowski supplying one kill each, while Tatum Kalt served an ace.  

SET THREE RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk rattled off the first eight points of the set. 
• The Rams took that early edge and turned it into an 11-2 margin. 
• UNE stormed back to make things interesting, 16-13.  
• Scott Blanchard used a timeout to slow down the Nor'Easters and it did as Suffolk built a six-point gap, 20-14. 
• UNE attempted to do the same with a timeout of its own, however, each team went on to etch five points the rest of the way, which allowed Suffolk to seal the sweep.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Suffolk's 38-attack was well-rounded as James and Keowen provided nine kills each and Weber and Nowakowski pitched in seven apiece. 
• Keowen added 10 digs, one block and one ace to her offensive output. 
• Johnson set up the offense with 36 assists to go along with four digs and three aces. 
• Morgan Kelsey anchored the defense with 13 digs. She also served a pair of aces. 
• Kalt notched seven digs and six aces. 
• Cervenka contributed a well-round performance of six kills, two blocks and one dig.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk defeated UNE for the second time in as many meetings. 
• The Rams leveled the all-time series with the Nor'Easters, 2-2. 
• The Rams recorded their first-ever sweep over UNE. 
• Suffolk hosted UNE for the first time in program history.  

POST-MATCH PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk concludes its regular-season this Saturday, Oct. 29 versus Nichols. Prior to first serve, the Rams will recognize the playing careers of its two gradating players, Kenzley Bell and Johnson.