Wellesley Sweeps Volleyball in Season Opener

WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Suffolk volleyball team fell in straight sets to Wellesley in its season opener Friday night at the Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. The decision came by set scores of 25-6, 25-13 and 25-14.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 0, Wellesley 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (0-1) | Wellesley (1-1)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-6, WELLESLEY)

• One of last the biggest threats at the service line in NCAA Division III last season, Talia Lombardo got the outing going with her first ace of the year. 
• The scored locked at 2-all thanks to a kill from Hannah Fabiano, before the Blue rattled off eight straight points to put Suffolk in a 10-2 hole. 
• Sarah Mullahy broke up the hosts scoring stretch, but Wellesley responded with a 7-1 run to make it a lopsided 17-4 first frame. 
• Kayla Barbera halted the scoring frenzy by the Blue with her first kill of the season as the score moved to 17-5. 
• The Blue notched eight of the final nine points to lock up the set, 25-6.  

SET TWO RECAP (25-13, WELLESLEY)

• A see-saw affair was present through the opening portion with 10 ties and a handful of lead changes. 
• The Blue took advantage of a Suffolk service miscue and recorded three straight points to grab a 13-10 edge. 
• Rams' points here and there were no match for the hosts momentum down the stretch as Wellesley put away the set, 25-13, behind late 7-1 rally.  

SET THREE RECAP (25-14, WELLESLEY)

• Wellesley put on a show to get the third set starting, grabbing a 9-3 lead with the trio of Suffolk's points coming off Blue service errors. 
• First-year head coach Scott Blanchard took a timeout to talk things and it worked with the Rams trimming the margin in half, 12-7, behind a 3-1 spurt. 
• Suffolk hung around the Blue and pulled within five again, 16-11. 
• Wellesley did not let the Rams any closer, however, as it strung five consecutive points together to grab a 23-12 advantage that was too much ground for the blue-and-gold to make up.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Fabiano's four kills led a 14-attack offense with Barbera and Chidera Nwankwo adding three kills apiece. 
• Lombardo set up the attack with 12 assists to go along with a pair of aces. 
• Bridget Allison led the defense with 11 digs and one block to go along with two kills. 
• Dakhensey Marcellus pitched in eight digs.   

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk met Wellesley for the first time in program history. 

POST-MATCH PIC
 

NEXT UP
Suffolk continues opening weekend action tomorrow as it heads to MIT for two matches. The Rams will get the day going against Morrisville State at 10 a.m., before capping off paly versus Colby at 2 p.m.