Volleyball Comes Back, Takes Five Set Thriller Over Framingham State

BOSTON – Down 2-0, Suffolk volleyball stormed back, tied things up at 2-all and took the fifth and deciding set easily to defeat Framingham State, 3-2, Tuesday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. The comeback win came via set scores 21-25, 21-25, 25-12, 25-11 and 25-5. 

Sami Shore was instrumental to Suffolk's success as the sophomore supplied a match-best 20 kills on a .679 attack percentage with five blocks. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Framingham State 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (9-2) | Framingham State (3-5)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-21, FRAMINGHAM STATE)

• After 10 tied scores and four lead exchanges, Framingham State built a 22-16 cushion that forced Scott Blanchard into his second timeout of the first frame. 
• A Shore kill, her third of the night boosted the host Rams on a 5-1 run that pulled the blue-and-gold within two, 23-21. In that spurt, Shore supplied two kills, while McKenna Keowen had one and pair of aces. 
• The visiting Rams used back-to-back kills by Natalie Reynolds to seal the opening set, 25-21. 

SET TWO RECAP (25-21, FRAMINGHAM STATE)

• Out of a 5-all tie, Framingham State poured in four unanswered to put the Boston Rams in a 9-4 hole. 
• That gap grew to as many as nine, 16-7. 
• Shore and Emily Norgrove combined for a block, which sparked Suffolk. The host Rams rolled on a 4-1 run to pull within six. Shore added two more kills in that rally to go along with her block. 
• Framingham State started to pull away again as it rebuilt an eight-point edge, 19-11. 
• Once again, a Shore block came up big. This time the sophomore joined forces with Chloe Clement to ignite a Suffolk comeback. 
• Following the block, the blue-and-gold rattled off an 8-1 spurt to make it a three-point set, 21-18. 
• The teams traded points to keep the distance at three, 23-20. 
• The visiting Rams sandwiched points around a block by Jasmine James and Shore to take the stanza, 25-21. 

SET THREE RECAP (25-12, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk started to turn things around in the third. 
• Down 6-5, two consecutive kills by Keowen helped regain the edge for the host Rams. 
• A J Martinez ace padded the cushion to a pair and before you knew it Suffolk was up by double digits, 20-10. 
• The ground was too much for Framingham State to make up and Suffolk outscored the guest, 5-2, to get on the scoreboard.  

SET FOUR RECAP (25-11, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk's momentum carried into fourth frame as a it jumped out to a 7-1 lead that turned into a 15-7 advantage at the midway point. 
• The blue-and-gold did not let up out of a Framingham timeout as it put on cruise control to coast to a 25-11 win and force a fifth set.  

SET FIVE RECAP (15-5, SUFFOLK)

• A 4-1 Suffolk lead turned into an 8-4 cushion when the foes switched sides. 
• The Boston Rams outscored the visitors 11-4 the rest of the way to secure the thrilling comeback victory. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Shore finished the night with a match-best 20 kills on a .679 connection rate with just one attack error. She added defensive depth as well with five blocks and one dig. 
• Keowen contributed 12 kills, eight digs, five aces, two assists and two blocks. 
• Grace Cervenka recorded nine kills on a .444 attack percentage with seven blocks and four digs. 
• Jayla Martinez registered 41 assists, 11 digs, four aces and four blocks. 
• Morgan Kelsey added 23 digs, two aces and two handouts.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk defeated Framingham State in back-to-back meetings for the first time in program history. 
• Since 2003, Suffolk is now 4-14 all-time against Framingham State.
• At home, Suffolk is 3-2 versus Framingham State. 
• Suffolk is 2-2 against Framingham State in the Blanchard era. 
• Suffolk and Framingham State went the distance for the second time in program history, first since Sept. 22, 2022. 
• Both five set matches between Suffolk and Framingham State have come under Blanchard's guidance. 
• The Boston Rams defeated FSU in five sets for the first time in program history. 
• Shore had a career-high in kills (20) and attack percentage (.679) and tied a personal-best five block assists. 
• Cervenka logged a career-best seven block assists. 
• Martinez had her first double-double of the season, third of her collegiate career. 
• Martinez notched career-high in digs (11) and block assists (4). 
• Emily Norgrove matched a career-high in kills (6) and block assists (1). 
• Chloe Clement logged a personal-best three block assists.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk heads to Southern Maine Thursday, Sept. 19 for a 7:00 p.m.