Volleyball Nicks Nichols in Five-Set Comeback

DUDLEY, Mass. – Suffolk volleyball pulled the curtain back on its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) calendar in thrilling fashion as the Rams rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to take down Nichols, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Athletic Center. The five-set triumph came via set scores 23-25, 21-25, 25-7, 25-19 and 15-13.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Nichols 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-6, 1-0 CCC) | Nichols (9-3, 0-1 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
In back-and-forth close battles, Suffolk fell behind 2-0 in the match after Nichols grabbed the opening set, 25-23, and the second stanza, 25-21.  

The Rams roared back in the third with a convincing 25-7 triumph. Suffolk started the frame with a 7-1 run that allowed the blue-and-gold to lead 13-5 at the midway point. Seven straight points from the visitors truly made things lopsided, 20-5, before Suffolk closed the set on a 5-2 run.  

Down 10-9 in the fourth, Suffolk rattled off five straight points to flip the script in its favor, 14-10 and Nichols used a timeout. The Bison battled back and pulled within one, 16-15, before the Rams scored seven unanswered to take a 23-15 lead. That gap proved to be the difference down the stretch to force a fifth frame. 

Runs of three were traded in the fifth, which allowed the Rams to go in front, 6-3. That advantage grew two more points before the Bison responded with a 5-2 spurt to cut Suffolk's lead to two, 10-8. Scott Blanchard used a timeout to talk things over, which proved to help as the blue-and-gold came out of the huddle and locked up the set and match, 15-13.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• McKenna Keowen and Sami Shore each supplied nine kills to Suffolk's 44-kill attack. 
• Keowen added eight digs, four aces and a pair of blocks, while Shore also supplied six blocks, one handout and one dig.
• Grace Cervenka chipped in six kills, four digs and three blocks.
• Jayla Martinez and Aislinn Lanigan set-up Suffolk's offense with 20 assists and 15 assists, respectively. The former pitched in nine digs, five aces and two kills, while the latter recorded five digs and two aces. 
• Morgan Kelsey's team-high 17 digs were crucial to the defensive effort. The junior had four assists and one ace on her stat line as well. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk lifted the lid on its CCC calendar in the win column for the first time. 
• The Rams are 1-2 in their first CCC contest of the year. 
• Suffolk faced Nichols in its first CCC battle of the year for the first time. 
• The Rams have defeated the Bison in back-to-back meetings to move to 2-1 all-time against Nichols. 
• The win is Suffolk's first over Nichols as the visiting team. 
• Suffolk and Nichols needed five sets to decide a winner for the second time, first since the inaugural meeting Sept. 30, 2021. 
• The Rams are now 1-1 in five-set matches against the Bison. 
• Both five-set outing between Suffolk and Nichols have taken place in Dudley, Massachusetts.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns to the friendly confines of Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court Tuesday, Sept. 26 for a 7 p.m. against Southern Maine.