WENHAM, Mass. – Suffolk volleyball kept Ram Nation on the edge of its seats as the fifth-seeded Rams rallied from a 2-0 deficit to upset fourth seed Gordon, 3-2, in the CCC First Round Tuesday night at the Bennett Athletic Center. The thrilling postseason victory came via set scores 23-25, 27-29, 26-24, 25-18 and 15-12. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Gordon 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (16-13) | Gordon (14-12)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Every set was a nail bitter from start to finish as the Fighting Scots secured the first set 25-23 before coming back itself in the second 29-27.  

In the third, the Rams held a seven-point advantage, 17-10 that quickly was erased the by the Fighting Scots. Gordon ended up gaining the lead 24-22. Suffolk had other things in mind and scored three straight with kills from McKenna Keowen and Sami Shore sandwiched around a block by Shore and Jayla Martinez. Up 25-24, the host used a timeout to slow the blue-and-gold down. Out of the huddle, an attack error by Gordon allowed Suffolk to stay alive as the match headed to the fourth.  

Out of a 14-all set, five Rams' unanswered points were followed by four straight points from Gordon to keep things close 19-18.  Suffolk took control of things from there with a 7-0 run to claim the frame, 25-18, and force a fifth set.  

Suffolk saw itself in a 5-2 hole. The Rams climbed out of it with a 4-1 spurt to level the playing field at 6-all. After the Fighting Scots grabbed a 7-6 edge, the blue-and-gold answered with three points in a row to gain an advantage it would never let go of as the teams went point-for-point the rest of the way.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Jessica Weber assembled a 19-kill, 17-dig double-double with a pair of blocks and one ace. 
• Keowen registered a 16-dig, 12-kill double-double of her own. She added three aces and two handouts. 
• Grace Cervenka pitched in 11 kills on a .370 attack percentage with four digs, four blocks and two aces. 
• Shore supplied eight kills, three blocks and one assist. 
• Jayla Martinez recorded 45 assists, four digs, one block and one kill. 
• Morgan Kelsey had 16 digs, five assists and two aces.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk advances to the CCC semifinals for the seconds straight season and second time in program history. 
• The Rams move onto a league's semifinals for the fourth time in program history. 
• It is the first time since 2018-19 that Suffolk has moved onto the conference semifinals in back-to-back seasons. 
• The Rams played a five-set match in the playoffs for the third time in program history, first since the 2022 CCC Quarterfinals, a 3-2 Suffolk win over Salve Regina, Nov. 1, 2022. 
• Suffolk secured its first road CCC postseason win in program history. 
•  The Rams are 2-1 in postseason five-set decisions and unbeaten when it need fives set in the league tournament under Scott Blanchard's guidance. 
• Suffolk improved to 4-4 all-time in postseason play with Blanchard on the sideline. 
• The Rams moved to 2-2 in CCC tournament action. 
• In the CCC first round (quarterfinals), Suffolk is 2-1. 
• The Rams leveled its postseason series with Gordon, 1-1. 
• Both of Suffolk and Gordon's postseason matches have gone to five sets. 
• Suffolk snapped a nine-match skid against Gordon, defeating the Fighting Scots for the first time since Oct. 17, 2013. 
• The Rams moved to 3-11 all-time against Gordon. 
• For the fourth time in the all-time series, Suffolk and Gordon went to five sets. 
• Suffolk defeated the Fighting Scots in five sets for the first time in program history.
• The Rams are now 1-6 against Gordon with Blanchard on the bench. 
• Weber had her third collegiate double-double, second of the season.
• Keowen logged her 10th double-double of the year, 15th of her career.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk continues on its quest for the CCC crown Thursday, Nov. 9 in the semifinals at top-seeded Wentworth at 6 p.m.