Volleyball Takes Five-Set Thriller at Emmanuel

BOSTON – Down 2-1, Suffolk volleyball rallied a comeback with four different players recording double digit kills to seal a thrilling 3-2 victory over Emmanuel Saturday morning at the Jean Yawkey Center. The GNAC victory came by set scores 25-23, 19-25, 21-25, 28-26 and 15-12. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3, Emmanuel 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-11, 2-3 GNAC) | Emmanuel (7-8, 4-2 GNAC)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-23, SUFFOLK)

• It was a back-and-forth frame throughout the entire first set with neither team taking more than a three-point edge. 
• Out of a 23-all tie, Suffolk coupled back-to-back points together with kills from Chidera Nwankwo and Kayla Barbera to take the stanza, 25-23. 

SET TWO RECAP (25-19, EMMANUEL)

• Emmanuel grabbed a hefty 10-2 lead to open the stanza. 
• The Saints kept the Rams at bay until the visitors made a late run with six unanswered points to cut the margin to four, 23-19. 
• A kill from Mary Shelow broke up Suffolk's stretch and a ball handling error by Suffolk sealed the set for Emmanuel, 25-19.  

SET THREE RECAP (25-21, EMMANUEL)

• Suffolk held a 13-9 lead at the midway point of the set. 
• Emmanuel found its grove later on and used a 4-0 spurt to gain a 17-16 edge. 
• The Rams tried to play catch up, but never capitalized on a rally as the Saints went on to outscore the blue-and-gold, 8-5, to take a 2-1 lead in the match behind a 25-21 stanza win.  

SET FOUR RECAP (28-26, SUFFOLK)

• Runs were present on either side of the net throughout the entire fourth frame. 
• Emmanuel started out with a 9-3 stretch before Suffolk responded with a 4-0 sput to pull within two, 10-8. 
• The Saints strung five straight points together to go up 18-10. 
• he Rams answered once again and this time pulled in front, 20-19, behind a 10-1 stretch.
• Suffolk took advantage of a couple bad sets from the Saints to go up by three before Nwankwo notched a powerful kill to give the visitors a 23-19 edge. 
• Another ball handling by Emmanuel set up match set point for the Rams. 
• The Saints had other things in mind however as they stayed alive and leveled the playing field at 24-all. 
• The marathon set remained until Suffolk scored back-to-back thanks to a block from Sarah Mullahy and Bridget Allison followed by a kill from Allison to force the fifth frame. 

SET FIVE RECAP (15-11)

• Suffolk turned a 3-3 tie into a 6-3 edge. 
• The Rams held down a 12-8 advantage, forcing Emmanuel to take a timeout. 
• The Saints' break slowed down the Rams, but not enough as Suffolk kept its composure and took the match on a Barbera kill.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• The quartet of players in double figure kills was led by Barbera's 17 kills with the sophomore adding 11 digs to the defensive effort to end the outing with a double-double. 
• Fabiano provided 16 kills, while Allison and Nwankwo each chipped in 11. Allison helped out the defense as well with six digs. 
• After a handful of games away due to injury, Talia Lombardo returned the line-up in record-setting fashion, dishing out 55 assists. The senior setter contributed 12 digs, four kills and two assists. 

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams won their second-ever match versus Emmanuel.
• Suffolk and Emmanuel faced off in a five-set thriller for the first time in the all-time series. 
• The Rams played in five sets for the first time in the Scott Blanchard era. 
• Lombardo finished the day with a career-high 55 handouts.
• Lombardo had her first double-double of the year and 
• Allison (11) and Fabiano (17) each had a season-high kills. 
• Barbera matched a career-high 17 kills and produced her second collegiate double-double.  

POST-MATCH PIC
 

ON DECK
Suffolk concludes Saturday's action versus UNE at approximately 12 p.m.