BOSTON – Suffolk volleyball entered the Conference of New England (CNE) win column in thrilling fashion as the Rams bested Western New England in five sets Wednesday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. The conference victory came by set scores 25-22, 25-10, 16-25, 22-25 and 15-10.  

In the triumph, McKenna Keowen became the fifth member of Suffolk's 1,000 dig club, second of the second behind Morgan Kelsey, who achieved the feat Wednesday, Sept. 25 versus Hartford. They are the first teammates to hit the milestone achievement in the same season in program history. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Western New England 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (16-4, 1-2 CNE) | Western New England (13-4, 1-2 CNE)  

SET ONE RECAP (25-22, SUFFOLK)

• Out of the sixth tie of the set, 7-7, Suffolk built a five-point lead four times with the last coming at 21-16.
• The Golden Bears got back in the thick of things behind a 6-1 run that cut the margin down to 23-22. 
• Suffolk used its first timeout of the set to stop the visitors rally and it helped as the host turned on set point out of the huddle. 
• WNE called a timeout of its own in the hopes of a case of déjà vu happening in its favor, however, Isabelle Huzar knocked down her third kill of the night instead and sealed the set for Suffolk.  

SET TWO RECAP (25-10, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk broke open a 5-all game with four straight points to grab a 9-5 edge. 
• The Rams stretch the gap to seven, 14-7, at the midway point. 
• After the Golden Bears got one point, the host put up 10 unanswered to take lopsided lead, 24-8. 
• WNE coupled back-to-back points together to stay alive, but a Golden Bears service error allowed Suffolk to take the set, 25-10. 

SET THREE RECAP (25-16, WESTERN NEW ENGLAND)

• Like the first two sets things evened up often early. 
• It was the Golden Bears that gained the edge this time however, as the visitors scored four in a row out of a 6-all to put the Rams in their biggest hole of the night, 10-6.
• Scott Blanchard was forced to take a timeout early. 
• The break did not help the host as WNE extended the distance to six twice, last at 13-7. 
• Suffolk cut the distance down to three a handful of times and made it 16-13. 
• The Golden Bears rattled off five unanswered to take their largest lead of the night, 21-13. 
• Despite their best efforts, the ground was too much for the Rams to make up and they fell in the third stanza, 25-16.  

SET FOUR RECAP (25-22, WESTERN NEW ENGLAND)

• It was a back-and-forth affair with a pair lead exchanges and four leveled scores that put matters at 14-all. 
• Suffolk clung to the edge, 19-16. 
• Western New England got a burst of energy from a timeout and scored five straight to take a 21-19 lead. 
• See-saw action closed out the fourth frame with the Golden Bears outscoring Suffolk, 4-3, to force a fifth and deciding set. 

SET FIVE RECAP (15-10, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk built an 8-3 cushion when the teams switched sides. 
• The Golden Bears made things interesting with a 5-1 run to trim the margin to one 9-8. 
• The Rams regained control and wrapped up the set with a 6-2 spurt. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Keowen had a double-double night of 18 kills on a .289 attack percentage with 25 digs to go along with one assist and one ace. 
• Kelsey, meanwhile, finished with a match-best 27 digs, two aces and one helper. 
• Sami Shore supplied 16 kills on a .361 connection rate, four blocks and one ace. 
• Chloe Clement contributed 11 kills, five digs and one assist. 
• Jayla Martinez notched 28 handouts, two aces and one kill. 
• Huzar had six kills on a .333 attack percentage with a pair of blocks.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk leveled the all-time series with Western New England, 6-6. 
• The Rams defeated the Golden Bears for the fifth straight meeting. 
• The blue-and-gold and WNE went to five sets for the second time, first since Sept. 28, 2019. 
• Suffolk is unbeaten, 2-0, in five-set decisions against Western New England. 
• The Rams are undefeated, 5-0, versus WNE under Blanchard's guidance. 
• At home, Suffolk is 4-1 against WNE. 
• Keowen logged her 1,000 career dig with her 22nd of the night. She is the fifth Suffolk student-athlete to achieve the feat and second of the season as Kelsey did so last Wednesday, Sept. 25 versus Hartford. 
• Keowen is the only Ram in program history to record 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills. 
• Keowen had her fourth consecutive double-double, ninth of the season and 25th of her collegiate career. 
• Keowen produced a personal-best 25 digs. 
• Kathy Mo logged a career-high 10 digs and matched a personal-best one helper. 
• Emily Norgrove tied a personal-best six digs.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Rams take the weekend off from CNE competition when they head to Newton, Massachusetts for a tri-match at Lasell Saturday, Oct. 12. Suffolk starts the day at 1:00 p.m. versus Pratt before facing the Lasers at 3:00 p.m.