Posted: Oct 20, 2018
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Suffolk volleyball team captured its sixth-straight GNAC contest behind a thrilling 3-2 triumph over Norwich at Andrews Hall Saturday afternoon. The victory came behind set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 15-25, 24-26 and 16-14.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3, Norwich 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (10-13, 7-3 GNAC) | Norwich (9-13, 2-18 GNAC)
SET ONE RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)
- Suffolk climbed out of a 6-3 hole to gain a 9-7 edge.
- The Rams built a 15-10 advantage thanks to a 4-0 run.
- The Cadets kept things interesting and made it a two-point frame, 15-13.
- Norwich continued to hang with Suffolk until the blue-and-gold put up three straight points to grab a 24-18 cushion.
- A kill by Norwich's Kathryn Farnum broke up the Rams' run, but it would not be enough as a block by Bridget Allison gained the frame win for Suffolk, 25-19.
SET TWO RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)
- Suffolk scored the first four points of the frame and quickly gained a 7-1 edge.
- Out of its own time, Norwich made things interesting and cut the deficit to one, 9-8, before evening the playing field at 11-all.
- The Rams did not relinquish the lead, however, as they went ahead 17-14.
- From 22-19, Suffolk scored three straight to secure the second set, 25-19.
SET THREE RECAP (25-15, NORWICH)
- The team's swapped points in the opening before Norwich blew open a hefty 17-5 advantage behind a 12-1 run.
- Chidera Nwankwo anchored a Suffolk comeback, but it fell short as the Cadets forced the fourth frame thanks to four consecutive points to close the stanza, 25-15.
SET FOUR RECAP (26-24, NORWICH)
- Suffolk broke open an 8-all tie with a 5-0 run to go up 13-8.
- See-saw action ensued before the Rams rattled off three straight points to gain a seven-point advantage, 17-10.
- The Rams remained on top 23-14 and a service error by Addison Hall had set and match point in sight for the blue-and-gold.
- The Cadets stormed back though thanks to seven unanswered points, which forced Scott Blanchard to take a timeout.
- Out of the Rams' break, Norwich's run continued as it evened things at 24-all, before scoring the next two points to claim the frame, 26-14.
SET FIVE RECAP (16-14, SUFFOLK)
- More back-and-forth action carried into the final frame.
- Down 6-4, Suffolk climbed back to go up 9-6.
- Norwich gained momentum out of its own timeout to cut the Rams' edge to one, 11-10.
- Blanchard called the blue-and-gold over once again, but it did not slow down the Cadets who went ahead, 14-12.
- Sarah Mullahy's kill sparked a Suffolk comeback and the Rams closed out the match with four consecutive points.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Nwankwo (12), Hannah Fabiano (11) and Allison(10) all produced double figure kills for Suffolk's attack.
- Talia Lombardo set up the offense with 39 handouts to go with four aces and nine digs.
- Dakhensey Marcellus (23), Emma Feeney (16) and Kayla Barbera (15) all held down the defense, which also received five blocks each from Allison and Nwankwo.
NOTEWORTHY
- The Rams won their sixth straight versus the Cadets to take a 7-6 edge in the all-time series.
- Suffolk swept Norwich for the sixth consecutive meeting and sixth time overall.
- The win marks Suffolk's seventh conference victory of the season, the most since tallying eight league triumphs in 2005.
- Suffolk and Norwich went to five sets for the first-time in the all-time series.
- Suffolk has now won six conference matches in a row, marking the longest league win streak for the Rams in the program's record book, which date through the 2003 season.
- The Rams are 2-0 in five-set matches under Blanchard's guidance.
POST-MATCH PIC
COMING UP
Suffolk concludes its Saturday action this afternoon at approximately 3 p.m. versus Norwich.