Women’s Volleyball Bests Framingham State, 3-1

BOSTON – For the first time since 2003, Suffolk volleyball took down Framingham State as the blue-and-gold Rams defeated the visitors 3-1 inside Regan Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. Suffolk secured the win by set scores, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19 and 25-19.

THE BASICS
SCORES: Suffolk 3, Framingham State 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (10-7) | Framingham State (6-14) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk grabbed the first set, but Framingham State rebounded in the second. The host Rams went ahead 2-1 in the match thanks to a  25-19 third frame win and put together an identical fourth stanza score to seal the 3-1 win. 

SET ONE RECAP (25-20 SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk grabbed a 16-9 cushion at the midway point.
• Seven unanswered points by the Framingham Rams leveled the playing field at 16-16.
• The score evened twice more before Suffolk regained the advantage, 20-19, thanks to an ace by Talia Lombardo.
• The blue-and-gold rallied behind Lombardo's ace and outscored FSU, 5-1, to take the set, 25-20. 

SET TWO RECAP (25-18, FRAMINGHAM STATE)

• A see-saw affair was present as the set equalized at 7-all.
• Framingham built a three-point cushion, 14-11, that turned into an 18-12 advantage.
• Out of a Suffolk timeout, Kayla Barbera and Sarah Mullahy teamed up for a block, but the hosts Rams could not build momentum off that as FSU went on to maintain its six-point lead 21-15.
• Suffolk went on a run with match point, scoring three consecutive points, but Framingham secured the set thanks to a kill by Brandey Rodriguez. 

SET THREE RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)

• Five ties and six lead changes were present through the opening portion of the frame.
• A kill by Hannah Fabiano followed by a FSU attack error gave Suffolk its first two-point edge of the set, 8-6.
• Suffolk maintained its edge and back-to-back aces by Fabiano turned it into a 16-9 blue-and-gold frame.
• FSU was determined to make a comeback and behind 3-0 spurt pulled within five, 20-15, and kept it there again at 23-18.
• The teams traded points before a monster kill by Fabiano locked up the frame for Suffolk.

SET FOUR RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)

• The score stood even at 8-all.
• Suffolk rattled off four unanswered points including back-to-back kills by Lombardo to go ahead 12-8.
• A back-and-forth battle ensued with the blue-and-gold remaining in front, 17-11.
• A 5-0 stretch by Suffolk set up match point with Bridget Allison's seventh kill of the afternoon winning the frame, 25-19, and the match for the SU Rams. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Three different Rams record double figure kills with Fabiano's 15 kills leading the way. Lombardo and Barbera rounded out the trio with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
• Dakhensey Marcellus anchored Suffolk's defensive effort with 27 digs with Liz Kerek, who dished out 39 assists, adding nine digs.
• Barbera, Sarah Mullahy and Fabiano all notched a pair of blocks. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk won its first meeting with Framingham State since 2003.
• The SU Rams picked up their first victory over FSU in the Bonny Ducharme era.
• The match went into four sets for the third time since the series began in 2003.
• At 10-7, Suffolk has notched double digit victories for the second straight season and ninth time overall dating back to 2003.

POST-MATCH PIC
 

UP NEXT
Suffolk closes its homestand Tuesday, Oct. 10 as Becker stops by Beacon Hill. First serve in the non-conference contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.