Regis Holds Off Suffolk in Four

BOSTON – Suffolk volleyball fell to Regis, 3-1, Wednesday night inside Regan Gymnasium as the Rams renewed their rivalry with Pride. The conference setback came by set scores 19-25, 25-18, 25-12 and 25-19. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1, Regis 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (12-10, 5-4 GNAC) | Regis (10-13, 6-3 GNAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk took a 1-0 momentum in the match as it secured the first frame, 19-25. Throughout the remainder of the match the Rams had to play catch up. The Pride held the blue-and-gold off in the ensuing three stanzas to secure the 3-1 victory. 

SET ONE RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)

• Regis put the first three points on the board to force Suffolk to play catch up.
• Bridget Allison scored the first kill for the Rams on the team's first attack of the night to jump start the comeback.
• Talia Lombardo leveled the playing field at 4-all with a kill of her own before Kayla Barbera gave the blue-and-gold the lead for good with her first kill of the evening.
• Suffolk built a five-point lead from there, leading 13-8.
• The Rams maintained the distance the rest of the way going ahead as many as six.
• Hannah Fabiano sealed the frame on a kill set-up by Liz Kerek.   

SET TWO RECAP (25-18, REGIS)

• Similar to the first, Suffolk fell behind early, but this time the Pride gained a 7-3 edge.
• Four straight points from Suffolk tied the set at 7-all and the lead flip-flopped from there.
• Emco MacKenzie sent a kill home to put the visitors in front from there.
• Regis gained a 17-11 advantage to force a Suffolk timeout.
• The Rams did not gain momentum out of the break as the Pride went on for the 25-18 set win. 

SET THREE RECAP (25-12, REGIS)

• Regis took a 4-0 lead that turned into a 14-7 cushion at the midway point.
• Out of a Suffolk timeout, the Pride continue to pile on the points and went ahead 20-8.
• The Rams used their second timeout of the frame to gain composure.
• Down the stretch Regis outscored the blue-and-gold 5-4, to take the set, 25-12, and gain a 2-1 match lead. 

SET FOUR RECAP (25-19, REGIS)

• Once again Suffolk bell behind early as the visitors built a 14-6 lead.
• The Rams' timeout allowed the hosts to turn the tides and rattle off a 9-1 run including five unanswered points to level the playing field at 15-all.
• The Pride used a break to settle down and it worked as it went on a 4-0 spurt of its own to regain a 19-15 edge.
• Suffolk tried to catch up again, but could not make up the ground as Regis went on to take the set, 25-19, and match 3-1.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Suffolk's 27-kill attack was well balanced with eight different players recording at least one.
• Kayla Barbera paced the offense with seven kills on a .429 hitting clip. The freshman added two digs and one block to the defensive effort.
• Talia Lombardo and Hannah Fabiano contributed on both sides of the net. Lombardo put toether a stat line of five digs, seven digs, six assists and a pair of blocks, while Fabiano notched five kills, nine digs and three blocks.
• Dakhensey Marcellus anchored the defensive unit with 18 digs to go along with two handouts, one ace and one kill. 

NOTEWORTHY

• For the second time in the series Suffolk, Regis series, the match went to four sets. The Prides owns both such outings.

UP NEXT
Suffolk hits the road Saturday, Oct. 21 for a tri-match at Saint Joseph's (Maine) featuring MASCAC foe Framingham State. The Rams will take the hardwood at the Harold Alfond Center first versus the host Monks at 1 p.m., before facing the FSU Rams in a rematch at 3 p.m.