Women’s Volleyball Stopped in Three by Endicott

BOSTON – It was a heated back-and-forth battled between Suffolk women's volleyball and Endicott Saturday at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court the Rams came out on the wrong side of a 3-0 decision in their regular-season finale. The Conference of New England (CNE) contest was determined by set scores 25-22, 25-22 and 28-26. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 0 | Endicott 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (23-6, 5-4 CNE) | Endicott (20-6, 9-0 CNE)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-22, ENDCIOTT)

• Suffolk started out hot scoring the first four points of the frame and turned that into an 11-5 advantage that forced Endicott into its first timeout.
• The Gulls used four unanswered points of their own to cut the gap to two. 
• The Rams rebuilt a four-point advantage multiple times with the last coming behind McKenna Keowen's fourth kill of the day, 17-13. 
• Endicott erupted from there with three quick points to trim the edge to one, 17-16, and Scott Blanchard used his first timeout. 
• The blue-and-gold managed to lengthen its lead back to three, but not for long as Endicott scored five in a row to go in front, 21-19. 
• That Gulls small cushion paid off out of Suffolk's second timeout of the set as see-saw action ensued and Endicott took the frame, 25-22.  

SET TWO RECAP (25-22, ENDICOTT)

• Out of the fourth tie of the stanza, Suffolk jumped ahead five, 14-9. That rally was capped off by back-to-back aces by Jayla Martinez. 
• Endicott fought back and leveled the playing field for the fifth time of the set at 15-all. 
• After back-and-forth action, the Gulls snuck ahead, 18-16. 
• From a Suffolk huddle, the blue-and-gold managed to regain the lead, 19-18, behind three quick points. 
• Four unanswered points by the Gulls put the Rams in a 22-19 hole that forced the host to use their second timeout of the set. 
• The teams traded points out of the break and once again the frame landed in Endicott's favor, 25-22.  

SET THREE RECAP (28-26, ENDICOTT

• Like the first two sets, Suffolk started out strong and built a 7-2 cushion. 
• The Gulls got back in the swing of things with a 5-2 rally to trim the deficit down to two, 9-7. 
• Suffolk stretched the distance to as many as six, 15-9. 
• Once again Endicott climbed back and chipped down the margin to one, 15-14, which caused Blanchard to take a timeout. 
• The Gulls may have tied things up at 15 out of the huddle, but Suffolk managed to rebuild a four-point gap thanks to a Chloe Clement kill and back-to-back aces from Tatum Kalt.
• The blue-and-gold maintained that five-point advantage, 22-17, to force Endicott into a timeout, its first of the set. 
• Suffolk responded to two quick Endicott points with three points in a row to turn on set point, 24-19. 
• The Gulls had an answer of their own with a 5-0 spurt to keep things interesting, 24-24.  
• The lead flipped flopped, and the score tied twice, before Endicott put the set and match away with a Ava Grace Dresback kill followed by a block from Stephanie Moreau and Dresback.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Keowen finished with 13 kills on a .241 attack percentage with five digs and four blocks. 
• Sami Shore added six kills, three blocks and one dig. 
• Clement contributed five kills and one assist. 
• Martinez logged 15 assists, five digs, three aces and one kill. 
• Aislinn Lanigan registered nine assists, six digs and two aces. 
• Morgan Kelsey added 10 digs, three helpers and two aces.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Prior to first serve, Suffolk recognized the playing careers of its six graduating players, Isabelle Huzar, Tatum Kalt, Kelsey, Keowen, Martinez and Sophie Palmer. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk awaits the official seeding of the 2024 CNE Tournament, that should be released at the conclusion of regular-season play tonight.