BOSTON – Suffolk volleyball landed on the wrong side of a 3-2 decision as Hartford defeated the Rams in five sets in the first Conference of New England (CNE) contest of the season Wednesday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 2 | Hartford 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (12-3, 0-1 CNE) | Hartford (6-5, 1-0 CNE)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-23, HARTFORD)

• Out of the ninth time of the frame at 10-10, Hartford hopped ahead, 15-11, which forced Suffolk into a timeout. 
• The Rams rallied back and leveled the playing field at 18 and again at 19. 
• This time the Hawks used a huddle to gain composure. It helped as the visitorsout of the break on a 5-1 run to turn on set point, 24-20. 
• A McKenna Keowen kill, followed by a block from Isabelle Huzar and Chloe Clement and a Hawks' attack error allowed the host to pull back within one, 24-23.
• A back-and-forth rally saw Clement go up for the attack, but was blocked by Juliana Robinshaw and Emily Theobald, which ended the stanza in Hartford's favor. 

SET TWO RECAP (25-23, SUFFOLK)

• Like the opening set, things were evenly paced to get the second started and the scored was locked at 12. 
• Hartford scored five unanswered to take its largest lead of the night, 17-12. 
• The multiple point gap remained at 20-16, before Suffolk started to make its comeback. 
• The Rams used a 6-2 stretch to even things at 22-22. In that span, Clement notched a kill, Morgan Kelsey served an ace and Sami Shore and Jasmine James combined for a block. 
• James and Shore came up big once again for the blue-and-gold as the grad student and sophomore put away kills to seal up the set for Suffolk. 

SET THREE RECAP (26-24, HARTFORD)

• See-saw action carried into the third as the score evened 15 times and the lead switched five. 
• From the 13-all score, Suffolk went up 18-14 thanks to a 5-1 run. 
• The Hawks scored four straight to knot things at 18. 
• Things would level five more times with the last at 24.   
• It was Hawks that coupled back-to-back points thanks to a pair of kills from Tiffany Mendez take the frame.  

SET FOUR RECAP (25-12, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk controlled the tempo in the fourth as an early 8-4 edge blossomed into a 16-8 advantage at the midway point. 
• That distance grew to double figures, 20-10. 
• The teams traded points the remainder of the set, which allowed Suffolk to coast to the set victory.  

SET FIVE RECAP (15-7, HARTFORD)

• Hartford handled the early action as it jumped out to a 5-1 edge. 
• That gap grew to as many as seven, 12-5, which forced Scott Blanchard to use his second timeout of the stanza. 
• Kills from Isabelle Huzar and Clement to spark hope for Suffolk and make it a 13-7 set. 
• The Hawks coupled two consecutive points though on a kill by Jordan Murphy and a Kalle Legassey ace to wrap up the five-set thrilling win.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Keowen finished with a 20-kill, 13-dig double-double with three aces. 
• Clement contributed 11 kills, three digs, two blocks and two aces. 
• Shore supplied nine kills on a .450 hitting percentage, two blocks and one ace. 
• James pitched in six kills, two block sand two digs. 
• Jayla Martinez registered 33 assists, six digs and one ace. 
• Aislinn Lanigan compiled an 11-dig, 10-assist double-double with one ace and one kill to her credit as well. 
• Kelsey notched 14 digs, four aces and four helpers.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk won its seventh straight match, its longest win streak since rattling off seven straight victories Oct. 12-Nov. 1, 2023.
• There has never been a sweep in the blue-and-gold's first CNE contest of a campaign. 
• The Rams went to five sets in their CNE opener for the second time in as many seasons and overall.  
• Suffolk is 1-1 when needing five sets in the first CNE contest of a campaign. 
• The Rams dipped to 1-3 in their first CNE contest of the year. 
• Suffolk opened its CNE schedule at home for the second time, first since 2021. 
• Suffolk is now 0-2 when playing its first CNE contest at Smith Court. 
• Suffolk faced Hartford in its first CNE outing for the first time. 
• The Rams hosted the Hawks for the first time. 
• The match between Suffolk and Hartford went more than three sets for the first time. 
• The Rams are now 0-2 all-time against Hartford. 
• Kelsey became the fourth member of Suffolk's 1,000-dig club, first since Kenzley Bell accomplished the feat Oct. 6, 2022 vs. Manhattanville. 
• Keowen had her 21st collegiate double-double, sixth of the season.
• Clement served the first aces of her collegiate career. She finished with two aces. 
• Lanigan logged her first collegiate double-double.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk takes a break from CNE contests this weekend when it travels to Fitchburg State for a non-conference tri-match with the Falcons and Bay Path. The Rams will face the Warriors at 1:00 p.m., before taking on the host FSU at 3:00 p.m.