Blue Scorch Suffolk 3-1 on Senior Day

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Outside hitter Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) recorded her seventh consecutive game with 20 or more kills, as the Blue rolled over the Rams of Suffolk University 3-1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-21) on senior day.

The Blue extend its winning streak to three in-a-row to improve to 5-7 overall and remain 2-4 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. Suffolk has not lost six of the last seven matches and falls to 6-11 overall and stays at 0-4 in the CCC.

Senior Doerges finished with a game-high 20 kills and added 10 digs. Fellow senior Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) tallied a match-high 34 assists and was solid defensively with 11 digs. Third senior Tiffany Shou (San Jose, Calif.) posted six kills, four digs, and a block for the Blue. Final senior Lizzy Jessen (Burbank, Calif.) added four digs. Behind Doerges offensively for Wellesley was Kate Salembier (Sierra Madre, Calif.) with eight kills.

Junior libero Kenzley Bell (Lake Park, Ga.) led the way with a match-high 24 digs for the Rams. McKenna Keowen (San Ramon, Calif.) set the tone on the offensive side of the net with 16 kills on 44 total attacks. Sophomore Jasmine James (Norwood, Mass.) was also in double figures with 10 kills.

Wellesley got off to a sluggish senior day start, quickly finding themselves down 5-0. The Rams recorded two kills and two service aces in the run. The Blue stayed in the game, after an attack error by Suffolk made the score 12-8. However, the Rams hit the gas pedal once again and took a comfortable 20-11 advantage and went on to take the set 25-18. Wellesley completed the set with just seven kills and had seven attack errors. 

The Blue quickly woke up and started off set two 9-0, with Doerges recording four kills over that span. Suffolk would score the next five points, but the Wellesley momentum was too strong as the Blue came away with the set 25-15. One again the Blue got off to a hot start in the third, taking a 4-1 lead after a service ace from Claire Bialek (Brookline, Mass.). With the score notched at 6-6, Wellesley used a 5-0 run with Shou serving and held an 11-6 advantage. Wellesley dominated the middle of the set going ahead 21-10, but the Rams battled back and only trailed 23-17. However an attack error from James closed the set with Wellesley winning 25-19.

The fourth and final set was dominated in the beginning, with a service ace from Doerges giving the Blue a 10-4 lead. Wellesley would go on to record a set-high 14 kills in the fourth and came away 25-21 to secure the overall 3-1 victory.

Wellesley will look to keep its October winning streak alive, with a NEWMAC matchup on the road at Coast Guard Tuesday at 7:00 PM. Next up for Suffolk is a date with Western New England on Wednesday, October 13, at 7:00 PM.