Johnson Becomes All-Time Assists Leader, Volleyball Sweeps Roger Williams

Johnson Becomes All-Time Assists Leader, Volleyball Sweeps Roger Williams

BRISTOL, R.I. – Suffolk volleyball saw history made Tuesday night as Harmony Johnson moved into the top spot on the Rams' all-time assist list in the teams' first-ever victory over Roger Williams, a 3-0 Commonwealth Coast Conference decision. The sweeping triumph came via set scores 25-16, 25-20 and 25-12 at the Paolino Recreation Center.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Roger Williams 0  
RECORDS: Suffolk (15-9, 3-3 CCC) | Roger Williams (5-17, 1-5 CCC) 

SET ONE RECAP (25-16, SUFFOLK)

  • Suffolk grabbed a 7-2 lead early. 
  • Roger Williams rallied back, outscoring Suffolk 8-4, to pull within one, 11-10. 
  • The Rams managed to regain a multi-point edge, 15-11, when McKenna Keowen knocked down her fourth kill of the night. 
  • Out of a timeout, Suffolk continue to keep up the pressure and restored its early advantage of six points at 21-15. 
  • From there, Grace Cervenka and Jess Weber notched back-to-back kills, both of which were assisted by Johnson, her 11th and 12th, handouts of the match, respectively, to tie the program's all-time assist record. 
  • The senior captain had a chance to rewrite history to seal the set after the Hawks had an attack error, however, Weber took matters into her own hands for the 25-16 final.  

SET TWO RECAP (25-20, SUFFOLK)

  • In the back-and-forth opening, Johnson did not waste time to rewrite history. The setter Keowen early and the sophomore tallied a kill to level the playing field 2-all. 
  • From there, Suffolk took a 5-4 lead. 
  • Behind an 8-1 run, the Hawks flew ahead, 12-6. 
  • The Rams worked their way back into the thick of things and made it a three-point set on a block by Johnson and Cervenka. 
  • Roger Williams used a timeout to calm the visitor's comeback down. 
  • The huddle helped as the host regained a five-point margin, 16-11. 
  • Once again, the blue-and-gold worked their way back and evened matters at 17-all. 
  • A kill from Jasmine James pushed the Rams ahead, 18-17. 
  • The score would lock at 18-18, however, Suffolk would not give up the lead as it went on to outscore the Hawks, 7-2 the rest of the way to take the second stanza, 25-20.  

SET THREE RECAP (25-12, SUFFOLK)

  • Suffolk pulled back from a 3-1 hole to tie things at 3-all before a Cervenka made it a one-point gap, 4-3, in the visitor's favor. 
  • The Rams slowly built a comfortable 15-8 cushion at the midway point that remained at 17-12. 
  • Suffolk scored the final eight points of the frame to secure the sweep.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

  • Keowen registered an 11-kill, 10-dig double-double with two aces, one assist and one block. 
  • Cervenka contributed 10 kills, one dig one block. 
  • Alina Nowakowski notched six kills. 
  • Johnson finished with 30 assists, six digs, one block and one ace. 
  • Kenzley Bell tallied 11 digs, two assists and one ace.  

NOTEWORTHY

  • Suffolk defeated Roger Williams for the first time in program history. 
  • Suffolk and RWU met in Bristol, Rhode Island for the seventh time. 
  • Eleven matches have been decided in straight sets, five with the Rams as the true away team. 
  • Johnson became the program's all-time leader in assists with her 1,822nd career assist, surpassing the 12-year record held by Julie Sullivan since 2010. 
  • Johnson now has 1,839 career assists. 
  • Keowen had her second straight double-double, fourth of the season and of her collegiate career. 

POST-MATCH PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk makes a pit stop by Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court Thursday, Oct. 20 for a non-conference clash with Albertus Magnus. First serve between the Rams and Falcons is scheduled for 7 p.m.