Volleyball Defeats Fitchburg State in Straight Sets

FITCHBURG, Mass. – Suffolk volleyball coupled its second straight win together in sweeping fashion as the Rams took down Fitchburg State 3-0 Tuesday night at Parkinson Gymnasium. The decision came via set scores 25-14, 25-19 and 26-24.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Fitchburg State 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-5) |Fitchburg State (4-2)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's early 7-1 lead was chipped down to three as the Falcons rallied. The Rams regained a 14-8 margin that forced FSU to take a timeout. The blue-and-gold put two points together out of the break before see-saw action ensued. With Suffolk up 20-13, Fitchburg State used its second timeout of the opening set and scored out of the huddle, however, the Rams went on to put up four unanswered to lock up the frame. 

Down 4-3, Suffolk rattled off a 9-1 run to grab a 12-5 cushion. The Falcons responded with a 10-5 run to cut the Rams lead down to two, 17-15. After the teams traded points, Suffolk sealed the second just like the first with four consecutive points.  

Suffolk jumped out to a 19-7 lead. The Falcons flew back into the thick of things thanks to a 12-3 spurt that made it a 22-19 frame. Fitchburg State responded to back-to-back Suffolk points with five straight points to even things at 24-all. An attack error by the host's Samantha Mirrra was followed by a block from Emma Rezendes and Isabelle Huzar to put an exclamation point on Suffolk's sweep.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Suffolk's offense was well-balanced with eight different players recording at least one kill. 
• Grace Cervenka led the way with eight kills on a .700 attack percentage to go along with three digs, one block and one ace. 
• Sami Shore logged seven kills on a .583 hitting clip with one dig and one block. 
• Avery Tatasciore recorded seven kills, three digs and a pair of blocks. 
• Jayla Martinez dished out 18 assists. She added eight digs, two kills and two aces. 
• Aislinn Lanigan added 10 handouts, six digs and one ace. 
• McKenna Keowen had a well-rounded night with five kills, eight digs, three aces, two assists and one block. 
• Morgan Kelsey pitched in 16 digs and five assists. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk won back-to-back matches for the first time this season. 
• The Rams moved to 3-0 all-time against Fitchburg State. 
• Suffolk and the Falcons played in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for the first time. 
• Suffolk is 2-0 against FSU in straight sets. 
• The Rams and Falcons have gone three sets in the last two meetings. 
• Rezendes matched a career-high one block 
• Cervenka hit at a personal-best .700.
• Noëlle Kuijt and Maddy Olson made their collegiate debuts. 
• Shore hit a career-high .583.
• Tatasciore tallied a personal-best in kills (7), total attacks (20), digs (3) and blocks (2).
• Palmer produced a career-high two digs. 
• Natalie Huoth matched a career-high four digs. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up its road swing at Dean Thursday, Sept.14 at 6:00 p.m.