Posted: Sep 14, 2024
ALBANY, N.Y – Suffolk volleyball snapped its two-match skid in sweeping fashion as the Rams flew past Russell Sage Saturday morning at the Kahl Campus Center as part of the Crosstown Challenge. The victory came by set scores 25-23, 25-19 and 25-21. The win also marked head coach Scott Blanchard's 100th at Suffolk.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Sage 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-2) | Sage (6-5)
SET ONE (25-23, SUFFOLK)
- Down 10-5, Suffolk stormed back with a 7-1 stretch to tie things at 12-all.
- It was an even affair throughout the rest of the first frame with three more tied scores down the stretch with the last coming at 23-all.
- The Rams' composure paid off as an attack error by the Gators was followed by a Morgan Kelsey ace to seal the first set for Suffolk.
SET TWO (25-19, SUFFOLK)
- Suffolk took a 7-3 advantage early.
- Sage soared back into the thick of things with a 9-5 stretch to lock things at 12 and cause a case of déjà vu.
- The Rams responded with three unanswered to regain the upperhand it would never let go of despite a see-saw affair the rest of the way.
SET THREE (25-21, SUFFOLK)
- Suffolk built a 12-6 cushion at the midway point.
- That multi-point distance remained in the Rams' favor, 20-15.
- Sage surged back with six unanswered to force Suffolk to play catch-up for the first time, 21-20.
- It was all blue-and-gold the rest of the way as it scored five straight to close the set and match.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- McKenna Keowen had a 12-kill, 10-dig double-double with one assist, one ace and one block.
- Grace Cervenka contributed eight kills on a .727 attack percentage with three digs and two aces to her credit.
- Sami Shore supplied eight kills on a .500 connection rate with four blocks.
- Jayla Martinez and Aislinn Lanigan shared the setter role with 23 assists and 16 assists, respectively.
- Kelsey chipped in 15 digs, tow helpers and two aces.
NOTEWORTHY
- Blanchard won his 100th career game at Suffolk. He is the first and only head coach of the Suffolk volleyball program to reach the milestone.
- Suffolk met sage for the first time.
- Keowen had her second straight double-double, fourth of the season and 19th of her collegiate career.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up play at the Crosstown Challenge this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. versus SUNY Oswego.
