
GORHAM, Maine – Suffolk volleyball racked up its sixth straight victory, a straight set victory over Southern Maine, Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium. The Rams triumph came via set scores 25-19, 25-16 and 25-12.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Southern Maine 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (8-2) | Southern Maine (2-7)
SET ONE RECAP (25-19, SUFFOLK)
- Suffolk leaped out to an 8-2 lead.
- The Rams advantaged blossomed into 16-7.
- The Huskies played their way back and trimmed the gap down to 19-14.
- Suffolk scored four of the next five points to come two points away of locking up the first frame.
- Southern Maine rallied and put together a 4-0 spurt to keep things interesting, 23-19.
- McKenna Keowen took matters into her own hands as she locked up the opening-set win for Suffolk with back-to-back kills.
SET TWO RECAP (25-16, SUFFOLK)
- Suffolk started with a 9-3 edge.
- Southern Maine pulled within five, 15-10, to force the Rams into a timeout.
- Out of the huddle, the blue-and-gold put together a 4-1 run to go up 19-11.
- After a Huskies timeout, the teams traded points and thankfully the early advantage paid off for Suffolk.
SET THREE RECAP (25-12, SUFFOLK)
- Once again Suffolk started out hot, 7-3.
- That advantage grew to 10 points, 16-6.
- The Rams never looked back from there as they outscored the host 9-6 the rest of the way.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Keowen finished with 11 kills behind a .308 attack percentage to go along with six digs, three aces and one block.
- Jasmine James was on the verge of double-digit kills with nine to her credit on a .500 conversation rate.
- Alina Nowakowski registered eight kills and one block.
- Harmony Johnson held down the setter's role with 30 assists to her credit. She added 11 digs to contribute a double-double effort that also featured four aces, one block and one kill.
- Kenzley Bell chipped in 11 digs, four assists, four aces and one kill.
NOTEWORTHY
- The sixth straight win for Suffolk marks the longest win streak for the Rams since winningest 10 matches in a row in 1997.
- Suffolk and Southern Maine met for the first time since 2018 and fourth time overall.
- The Rams defeated the Huskies for the first time in program history.
- Suffolk moved to 1-3 all-time against USM.
- Suffolk battled at USM for the first time.
- Three of the four matches between the Rams and Huskies have been decided in straight sets.
- Johnson recorded her eighth collegiate double-double, first since Oct. 19, 2021 versus the University of New England.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk rides its six-match win streak into its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) debut, that is on tap for Tuesday, Sept. 20 at Gordon at 7 p.m.