BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Jessica Timothy finished with 18 kills against only six errors as the Keene State College women's volleyball team split a tri-match with Suffolk University and Worcester State University on Saturday at Smith Court.  The Owls struggled against the Rams, falling 25-23, 25-8, 25-10, before then rebounding to beat the Lancers (28-26, 25-15, 25-19) for the 17th consecutive time in the series.

Records

• Keene State:  4-6
• Suffolk:  6-5
• Worcester State:  4-6

How It Happened
The Owls had leads of 6-0, 17-13, and 23-20 to kick off the match against Suffolk, but wound up giving up five consecutive points for a tough opening set loss – and that ultimately sent KSC off in the wrong direction against the Rams, who then won the next two sets by a combined 32 points.  Keene State fell into massive deficits in each of those frames, falling into an 8-1 deficit in the second from which they never mounted a push, and into the same hole in the third, which eventually ballooned into a 15-5 Suffolk lead.  After the early seven-point deficit in each set, the Owls were never closer than six at any point in either, and they finished with nine kills and 11 errors as a team combined in those sets.  Meanwhile, Suffolk combined for 22 and five, respectively, hitting .300 in the second and .478 in the third.  The Owls were overall outhit .297 to .013, with the .013 mark one thousandth of a point from tying their lowest mark of the season.  The Rams were plus in most every statistical category, including having 13 more kills, nine more aces, four more blocks, nine more assists, and five more digs than KSC.  The Owls' 24 digs marked their third lowest total this season.

KSC had won all six sets in two previous meetings against Suffolk, most recently in 2019, but could not keep up on this day.  Timothy had seven kills on 15 attempts and hit .267.  Sarah Bartels had four kills (.125 pct.) and Stephanie Olah finished with two kills (.167 pct.), but those were the only Owls that finished with more kills than errors.
Suffolk was paced by eight kills on 15 attempts, a .400 percentage, by Jessica Weber.  Jasmine James had seven spikes.  The two combined for five block assists.

Keene State found their footing against Worcester State, taking the opening set in extra points (28-26) before having a slightly easier time in the final two sets.  Timothy added 11 kills to her day and hit an impressive .400, while Gigi Stake had eight spikes (.207 pct.) and eight digs.  Olah had six kills and hit .385.

The first frame was close throughout, with neither team ever leading by more than four.  KSC scored four straight to go up 12-9 and later led 20-16, but the Lancers answered with five in a row to take a 21-20 edge of their own.  The Owls went up 24-23 on a kill from Veronica Kroha and had the first chance to close the set, but could not, and the Lancers then had their own shot to do so at 25-24, but also could not as Timothy swung for a kill.  She then gave the Owls the lead in the match with her sixth kill of the set.

KSC gained more separation in the second set, opening an 8-4 lead on consecutive team blocks from Stake and Annaliese Rudberg.  Another kill by Timothy made it 12-5, and the Owls were not substantially threatened, pushing their lead out to nine with a 5-0 burst after Worcester drew as close as four.  They would go on to win by double-figures (25-15) for a 2-0 edge in the match.

The third set required an Owl comeback as they dropped five of the first six points and later trailed 11-6.  Three straight aces from Alexis Small brought KSC back within one (13-12) and the Owls took a 17-16 lead on two kills in a three-point span from Stake, but the Lancers answered with three in a row to grab the lead back and seemingly momentum.  However, that momentum vanished rapidly, as Keene State closed the day with an 8-0 run for a much-needed victory after dropping the opener.  Worcester made three attack errors in that span and had two bad sets.

"The first set against Suffolk was the best we played all year and then we just stopped cold," said Keene State head coach Bob Weiner.  "It's a learning process, and hopefully every mistake won't be repeated."

"We were OK against Worcester, but we are going to have to be consistent against stronger teams, and soon," he added.

Beatrice Gamboa-Estrella paced the Lancers with nine kills and hit .368.  Cassidy D'Esposito had eight and connected at a .400 clip.

Service Aces

• Timothy has 30 kills (against 12 errors) in her last three matches and has taken the team lead with 62.
• KSC is 3-0 when Stake has eight kills or more.
• Suffolk swept Worcester State 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-19) in the day's final match.

Up Next

• Keene State returns home to host Rivier University (4-2) on Tuesday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m.  The Owls lost to the Raiders 3-0 on September 1 at Springfield College.
• Suffolk hosts Eastern Nazarene College (8-0) on the same night (7:00 p.m.).  The Lions went 23-2 a season ago and made the NCAA tournament, falling in the first round.
• Worcester State visits the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (5-5) on Thursday, September 21 for a 6:00 p.m. start.