Suffolk University volleyball traveled to face the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats Oct. 3 in a non-conference battle. The Rams swept the Wildcats 3-0 to end a 27 match losing streak against the Wildcats.
The win is only the second in program history against the Wildcats and puts the Rams at 2-28 all-time against Johnson & Wales. The only win the Rams had recorded prior to this was a 3-2 win in September of 1997.
In the first match the two sides had played since 2019, Suffolk swept Johnson & Wales for the first time. The last time the Rams had won even one set against the Wildcats was a 3-2 loss in October of 2013.
Suffolk went on a 7-3 run to open the first set and then strung together a 5-3 run to quickly make it 12-6 and force a Johnson & Wales timeout. After a 4-0 Wildcats run made it 12-10, Suffolk went on runs of 6-4 and 7-3 to win set one 25-17.
Outside hitter McKenna Keowen produced six kills in the first set alone, while libero Morgan Kelsey added seven digs and Jayla Martinez produced seven assists and four digs. Keowen led the Rams with a .364 hitting percentage.
Set two was much closer, as the first 10 points left the score at 5-5 and the first 20 points left it 11-9 Suffolk. However, set two went to the Rams by a score of 25-22 as they continued to control play when it mattered the most. Keowen picked up four more kills in the second set, while Kelsey added three more digs and Martinez picked up six more assists to continue to lead the Rams in those categories.
Johnson & Wales came out in set three determined, taking an early 5-3 lead to force a Suffolk timeout. The Wildcats extended their lead further to a 19-16 margin to force Suffolk’s second timeout of the set.
A 5-2 Rams run out of the timeout tied the set at 21, forcing a Johnson & Wales timeout. Suffolk capped the comeback with a 4-1 run to take the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.
Martinez paced the Rams in assists with 23, with Kelsey and Keowen in a distant second with two each. Keowen led Suffolk in kills with 13 as Emily Norgrove sat in second with nine. Kelsey’s 13 digs, Martinez’s 12 and Keowen’s 10 also boosted the Rams’ attack.
Keowen also got an ace to move to eight shy of 100 on her career, and her 12 digs put her 22 away from 1,000 in her career. Kelsey’s 13 dig showing now has her 188 digs shy of becoming the program’s all-time digs leader.
Suffolk’s record now sits at 15-4 on the season as they get set to welcome Conference of New England foe Western New England University to Boston Oct. 9.
