BOSTON – The Suffolk women's volleyball team got back on the winning track Tuesday night thanks to double-double efforts from Talia Lombardo and Caitlin Mockler. The Rams took down Becker, 3-1, inside Regan Gymnasium by scores of 25-15, 26-28, 25-21 and 25-19, for the first home victory over the season.
The Rams utilized 70 digs for the second time this season and snapped a three-match losing streak to move to 4-8 overall. Lombardo led the charge with 22 digs, the most for a Rams since Yabriela Perez dug 23 at UMass Dartmouth last year. Lombardo led Suffolk offensively with 10 kills to tally her third double-double of the year and second in as many matches. Mockler added 11 digs and dished out 14 assists for her second double-double of the season.
Heidy Barrero chipped 17 digs and Liz Kerek was one dig shy of her first collegiate double-double as the sophomore notched nine digs and dished out 17 assists.
Becker (6-7) was led by Marissa Turner who tallied six kills and eight digs. Charlene Landry contributed 21 assists with a pair of aces for the Hawks.
After being knotted at three to begin the first set, Suffolk jumped out to a 7-4 edge after a couple of Becker setting errors. The Hawks managed to level things again nine, when the Rams turned up the heat with eight unanswered points for a 17-9 cushion. Suffolk later held a 23-15 lead and sealed the set off back-to-back Lombardo aces.
The second stanza was a more back-and-forth affair featuring multiple lead changes. With things tied at four, Suffolk was able to take a lead of 9-7, before Becker went on a run of its own. The Hawks stole the edge and went ahead 16-14, but Suffolk answered with three points to go ahead 17-16. With match point on the line for the Rams, 24-21, the Hawks leveled the stanza at 24-all and the hosts could not muster a comeback dropping the set, 28-26.
The Rams came out firing in the third. After losing the opening point, Suffolk took a commanding 5-1 lead. After Becker closed the margin to 7-5, Suffolk raced out to a 17-14 edge. Out in front 21-16, Suffolk head its lead cut to one on a four-point run by Becker, but that's the closest the Hawks would get as the Rams kicked it into overdrive and Kerek's ace sealed the set, 25-21.
The final frame saw a 4-3 Becker edge turn into an 11-4 Suffolk advantage before the Rams never looked back, leading all the way. The set and matched were sealed in favor of the Rams off Lombardo's 10th kill of the night.
Suffolk gets right back to action tomorrow night when it hits the road to take on Simmons in a 7 p.m. tilt.