Volleyball Takes Five-Set Thriller at Lasell

NEWTON, Mass. – Suffolk volleyball wrapped up its tri-match in Newton, Massachusetts, in thrilling fashion as it captured a 3-2 win over Lasell Saturday afternoon at the Lasell Athletic Center.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Lasell 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (18-4) | Lasell (16-4)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-16, LASELL)

• Lasell leapt out to a 7-2 lead that grew to a 15-5 advantage at the midway point. 
• Suffolk scored three in a row to cut the margin down to seven, 15-8. 
• A back-and-forth set ensued, and the early edge paid off for the Lasers, 25-16. 

SET TWO RECAP (25-14, SUFFOLK)

• It was Suffolk that started out strong and held the upperhand 13-7. 
• Out of Lasell timeout, the Rams outscored the Lasers, 6-1 to lengthen their cushion to 21-8. 
• The host figured things out and managed to outplay the blue-and-gold down the stretch. Thankfully Suffolk's start paid off and the Rams took the set, 25-14, and leveled the playing field at 1-all. 

SET THREE RECAP (29-27, SUFFOLK)

• A 4-0 Suffolk started forced the Lasers into an early timeout. 
• The Lasers battled back out of the break and knotted things at 15. 
• The score tied eight more times before a Lasell attack error was followed by a block Isabelle Huzar and Jayla Martinez clinched the marathon set for the blue-and-gold. 

SET FOUR RECAP (26-24, LASELL)

• Suffolk held a slim 14-11 edge. 
• The Lasers leveled the playing field at 17-all. 
• From there, the score locked seven times. 
• Unlike the third, it was Lasell that coupled back-to-back points to take the set, 26-24, and force a fifth frame.  

SET FIVE RECAP (15-11, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk trails 8-3. 
• The Rams battled back and pulled within two, 10-8, which caused the Lasers to take a timeout. 
• It was all blue-and-gold the rest of the way as it outscored the host 7-1 to claim the set and match. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Sami Shore paced Suffolk's attack with 16 kills on a .355 attack percentage to go along with four blocks. 
• McKenna Keowen contributed 14 kills, 10 digs and one assist. 
• Chloe Clement contributed 10 kills and two blocks. 
• Jayla Martinez logged 26 assists, eight digs, four aces, one block and one kill. 
• Aislinn Lanigan added 15 helpers, two kills, one block and one dig. 
• Morgan Kelsey notched 15 digs, five aces and four assists.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk defeated Lasell for the fourth straight meeting to move to 12-12 (.500) all-time against the Lasers. 
• Suffolk is 4-1 against Lasell under Scott Blanchard's guidance. 
• Suffolk and Lasell went the distance for the third straight meeting and third time overall. 
• Suffolk is undefeated in 3-2 decisions versus the Lasers, 3-0. 
• On the road, Suffolk sports a 5-6 ledger versus Lasell.
• Keowen had her 10th double-double of the season, 26th of her collegiate career.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk welcomes Nichols to Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court Wednesday, Oct. 16 for a Conference of New England (CNE) contest. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.