Volleyball Slips to Wentworth in CCC Semifinals, 3-1

BOSTON – Suffolk volleyball saw its season come to a close Thursday night as the fourth-seeded Rams did not muster an upset over top-seeded Wentworth. Despite forcing four sets, the blue-and-gold fell to the Leopards, 3-1, at Tansey Gymnasium via set scores 25-19, 25-16, 18-25 and 25-13. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1 | Wentworth 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (16-13) | Wentworth (21-5)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk trailed 15-8 at the midway point of the first frame and found itself in a 20-13 hole that forced head coach Scott Blanchard to use a timeout. The Rams rallied out of the huddle with a 5-1 stretch that chipped the deficit down to three, 21-18. The Leopards would go on to outscore the blue-and-gold 4-1 the rest of the way to take the frame, 25-19.  

The Leopards leapt out to a 9-0 lead that grew into a lopsided 16-4 margin in the host favor. Suffolk gained momentum out of its second timeout of the set as the blue-and-gold sliced the gap down to seven, 17-10, behind a 6-1 stretch. In that span, Jessica Weber supplied a pair of kills, McKenna Keowen chipped in one kill and one ace. Wentworth used a timeout of its own to swing energy back in its favor as the Leopards piled five unanswered points to take a 22-11 edge that Suffolk could not comeback from.  

Similar to the second, WIT scored the first five points of the third. Suffolk caught up though and pulled ahead late, 18-17, thanks to a 5-1 run. Unlike the second stanza, the Leopards were unable to find composure in a timeout and the Rams logged a 4-1 stretch to take a 23-18 cushion. Wentworth used its second timeout to halt Suffolk but had no luck as a kill by Jasmine James followed by a block from Grace Cervenka secured the set for the Rams, 25-18.  

Wentworth regained control in the fourth set as it jumped out to a 10-3 lead that blossomed into a 15-5 lead. The playing field became even the rest of the way, however, the earlier advantage paid off for the Leopards. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Weber had a team-high nine kills, as well as four blocks, three aces, two digs and one assist. 
• Keowen registered 13 digs, eight kills, two blocks and two aces. 
• Cervenka contributed six kills, eight blocks and three digs. 
• James rounded out the offense with a pair of kills. 
• Jayla Martinez set-up Suffolk's attack with 27 assists to go along with nine digs, three aces and one block.
• Morgan Kelsey chipped in nine digs, four aces and a pair of handouts.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk played in the CCC semifinals for the second straight season. 
• The Rams appeared in a conference' semifinals for the fourth time. 
• Suffolk and Wentworth needed four sets to decide a winner for the second straight meeting and 10th time overall in the all-time series. 
• The Rams and WIT met in the postseason for the first time. 
• Suffolk moved to 4-5 in postseason play under Blanchard. 
• Overall, Suffolk is now 2-3 in the CCC Tournament.
• The Rams are no 1-3 on the road in CCC postseason action. 
• Cervenka had a career-high eight blocks.