BOSTON – The Suffolk volleyball team wrapped up its first tri-match of the season with a 3-1 victory over Salem State Saturday afternoon inside Regan Gymnasium. The Rams extended their win streak to three with set scores of 25-20, 25-27, 25-23 and 25-17. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3, Salem State 1
RECORDS Suffolk (4-3) | Salem State (5-5) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Each set was tightly contested with the Rams and Vikings trading the first and second frames. Suffolk took a lead in the match thanks to a 25-23 third stanza win and locked up the tri-match sweep thanks to a 25-17 fourth frame win. 

SET 1 RECAP (25-20, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk took an early 6-2 lead.
• The Rams rattled off four unanswered points to stretch their edge to 10-4.
• A 6-2 spurt by the blue-and-gold pushed the set to 21-14 in the Rams' favor.
• Salem State rallied behind Dina Roman at the service line with five consecutive points to pull within two of Suffolk, 21-19.
• The hosts took advantage of a Vikings service error and used an ace by Kayla Barbera and a kill by Hannah Fabiano to set up set point, 24-19.
• Fabiano put the frame away with her fourth kill of the set, 25-20.   

SET 2 RECAP (27-25, SALEM STATE)

• A see-saw affair ensued to open the second stanza.
• The frame equalized at 14-14 at t the midway point.
• Suffolk gained a five-point lead, 21-16.
• Salem State went off an a 5-1 run to make it a one-point set, 22-21.
• The Vikings leveled the playing field with a kill by Sara Corey and gained the lead thanks to an ace by Maddi O'Connor.
• Suffolk went back in front thanks to back-to-back Vikings' mistakes.
• The visitors righted the wrongs, however, and coupled two straight points to put a check in the win column, 27-25. 

SET 3 RECAP (25-23, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk climbed out of an early 3-1 hole and went up by four, 11-7.
• Five unanswered points gave the Rams a 16-9 cushion.
• The team's traded points and Suffolk remained in front, 22-14.
• Four quick points by Salem put the visitors in striking distance, 22-18.
• A pair of points quieted the Vikings, but not for long as they went on 5-0 run including three consecutive aces by Mackenzie Salls to pull within one, 24-23.
• Fabiano put the set away once for the second time on the afternoon with yet another kill. 

SET 4 RECAP (25-17, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk trailed 10-7.
• A 7-0 run reserved the roles and put the Rams in front by four, 14-10.
• The blue-and-gold held its position with the lead and used four consecutive points to stretch the score to 22-16.
• Emma Feeney sealed the set and match with an ace. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Fabiano had a career-night on the attack with 19 kills, hitting .586. The freshman also paced the defense with 16 digs to finish the afternoon with a double-double.
• Kayla Barbera contributed nine kills, six digs and three aces.
• Liz Kerek and Talia Lombardo set up Suffolk's attack with 20 and 18 handouts, respectively. Kerek added four digs and three kills, while Lombardo chipped in nine digs, four blocks, four aces and six kills. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk improved to 11-3 versus the Vikings since 2004.
• The Rams locked up their first win over Salem State under Bonny Ducharme.
• For the 10th time in the all-time series, Suffolk and Salem State went to four sets. Overall, the blue-and-gold moved to 8-2 in four-set matches against the Vikings.
• Fabiano notched a career-high 19 kills, the most kills by a Ram in a four-set outing since Chidera Nwanko match that number in a 3-1 win over Pine Manor Oct. 3, 2015.
• For the second time this season and in her career, Fabiano recorded a double-double with a 19-kill, 14-dig performance.
• Fabiano paced Suffolk's attack for the fourth match this season. 

POST-MATCH PIC

COMING UP
Suffolk entertains Pine Manor in a Tuesday, Sept. 19 tilt in Regan Gymnasium at 7 p.m.