WESTON, Mass. – Suffolk volleyball snapped a four-match skid with a four-set triumph over UMass Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Higgins Court on the campus of Regis. The Rams 3-1 triumph came via set scores 25-19, 25-18, 23-25 and 27-25. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | UMass Dartmouth 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (2-5) | UMass Dartmouth (2-3)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's 8-2 lead grew to a 14-6 advantage at the midway point of the first frame. The Rams maintained a six-point margin the rest of the way to grab a lead in the match.  

Like the opening set, the Rams jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the second. The Corsairs caught up and trimmed the deficit down to a pair, 13-11. Suffolk strung together a 7-2 stretch to restore its comfortable cushion, 20-13. Both teams went on 4-0 runs before points were traded to seal the set in the blue-and-gold's favor, 25-18.  

With Suffolk up 6-1, UMass Dartmouth compiled a 7-2 run to even things at 8-all. The score would lock even more times with the last coming on Jessica Weber's kill that made it 23-23. The Corsairs coupled back-to-back points together to take the third set, 25-23, and make it a 2-1 Suffolk match.  

The Rams trailed 17-12 in the fourth before they mounted a comeback. Sami Shore's kill ignited the Rams 7-4 spurt that pulled the blue-and-gold within one, 21-20, and forced the Corsairs to use a timeout. The huddle helped UMD remain in front and turn on set point, 24-22. This time, the blue-and-gold used a break to calm down and like Dartmouth's Suffolk rallied out of the timeout, went on a 5-1, match-ending run.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Weber registered 14 kills to lead the Rams' 53-kill effort. 
• McKenna Keowen notched a 13-kill, 18-dig double-double with three blocks, three assists and one ace to her credit. 
• Shore supplied 10 kills on a .300 hitting clip with two blocks to her credit. 
• Grace Cervenka chipped in six kills, five blocks, three digs and two aces. 
• Jayla Martinez contributed 22 assists, four digs, two aces and one kill. 
• Aislinn Lanigan had 18 handouts, nine digs and one kill. 
• Morgan Kelsey tallied 23 digs, five assists and four aces. 
• Tatum Kalt logged 12 digs and one ace.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk is 5-11 all-time versus UMass Dartmouth. 
• The Rams have won back-to-back meetings with the Corsairs. 
• Suffolk continues to be the most successful when taking UMD four sets. The Rams moved to 3-2 in four-set matches against the Corsairs. 
• The Rams are unbeaten, 2-0, against UMD with Scott Blanchard on the sidelines. 
• Weber had double-digit kills in back-to-back matches for the first time this season. 
• Keowen put together her seventh collegiate double-double, second of the season, first since the season opener against Hiram, Sept. 1, 2023. 
• Keowen's 18 digs match a career-high for the junior.
•  Lanigan dished out a career-high 18 assists and had a personal-best nine digs. 
• Cervenka matched a personal-best five block assists. 
• Shore rewrote career highs in kills (10), total attacks (20), and block assists (2) and matched a personal-best two blocks. 
• Kelsey matched a career-high five handouts. 
• Emily Norgrove tied a personal-best four digs.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk starts a four-match week Tuesday, Sept. 12 at Fitchburg State at 6 p.m.