Suffolk University volleyball seniors were honored in the Ridgeway Gym Nov. 9 before their regular season finale against Endicott College as part of their Senior Day celebrations.
This team has six senior players: liberos Tatum Kalt, Sophie Palmer and Morgan Kelsey, middle blocker Isabelle Huzar, outside hitter McKenna Keowen and setter Jayla Martinez.
“Coming into this my freshman year, I found my family here within the team. Being able to finish out all four years on this team and compete as much as we have has been great,” said Kelsey.
Being on this team and involved within the program has left many of these seniors proud that they were a part of it over the years.
“This has meant a lot to me being a part of this team and this program, and being able to turn it into what it is now. I’m so proud to be a part of it,” said Kalt.
Throughout their four seasons with Suffolk, this group has set a handful of records and achieved rare milestones that permanently etched them in Suffolk’s history books.
“They’re the ones rewriting all the records. We’re gonna miss them a lot, they’re gonna be tough to replace,” said head coach Scott Blanchard.
Among these milestones includes Keowen setting the program kills record, Kelsey becoming the program’s all-time ace leader, and Martinez recording 1000 career assists.
With such a successful group of players graduating, filling the void they will leave behind could prove to be a challenge.
“Honestly I just know it’s going to be very impactful losing them. We’re gonna really have to rebuild the team, we’re gonna be a young team next year,” said freshman right-side hitter Sam Michon. “I’m really glad that I got to know all the girls.”
Michon noted how the seniors played a big part in welcoming the new freshmen to the team this season, helping them feel included and bond with everyone.
“When I came here last year for an overnight visit, I got to hang out with the girls and stay overnight. They were super inviting and super welcoming. I just really think that’s what our program’s about and I hope to be like that when I’m an upperclassman,” said Michon.
Endicott would defeat Suffolk 3-0 in a tough, competitive match which saw each set get very close.
During the game, all-time kills leader Keowen picked up 13 kills, marking a career-high with 352 kills on the year. Her program kills record now sits at 1,217. Kelsey would also add another two aces to her program record during the game.
Suffolk volleyball heads into the playoffs with a 23-6 record, good enough for the fourth seed in the Conference of New England. Their 23 wins set another program record, this time for the most wins in a single season.
“We’re gonna be a tough out. We gotta clean up a couple things, we made a few mistakes that we don’t normally make. We have to get that cleaned up, but I was pleased with the way they played,” said Blanchard.
Despite the loss, each set came down to the wire and was within just a few points. The third set was a back and forth battle between two of the top teams in the conference, in which both teams came within a single point of taking the set.
To this point, top seeded Endicott hasn’t lost a single conference game, yet Suffolk held its own and kept the game close throughout each set. Suffolk repeatedly took early leads in each of the three sets, but Endicott would continue to rally back.
The highest margins of victory were 25-22 Endicott wins during the first two sets. Suffolk had Endicott on the ropes in the third and final set, needing only one more point to force a fourth set, however Endicott would come back and ultimately take the set 28-26.
“I think the tempo was really great, I think this was the most intense game we’ve played this season. We knew the game against Endicott was going to be tough, I’m happy we could put on a good show for all of our fans that came to watch,” said Kalt.
Overall, Suffolk and Endicott played an intense game which could’ve gone either way, but games like this could help Suffolk prepare for the playoff road ahead.
“I think this game puts us in a good spot. I hope next time we run into them it’s a different story and we end up winning, but it was such a close game I think we can take them,” said Kelsey.
Although they lost, Suffolk is not backing down and is hoping for a rematch in the playoffs against Endicott.
“We’re hosting the first round [of the playoffs], I would expect us to hopefully hold our seed then get another shot at Endicott,” said Blanchard.
