NEW LONDON, N.H. – October 24, 2017 – The Colby-Sawyer women's volleyball team rallied for 3-2 non-conference victory over Suffolk on Tuesday evening. The Chargers won by scores of 25-27, 25-21, 21-25, 25-9 and 16-14.

Colby-Sawyer improves to 12-18 and will host a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) quarterfinal contest against Green Mountain on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Suffolk dips to 12-13 and will close out the regular season on Saturday with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match at Saint Joseph (Conn.). The Chargers now own a 5-0 all-time record against Suffolk, which will become a regular conference opponent next season as Colby-Sawyer transitions to the GNAC.

The script could not have been written better for the Chargers as the night celebrated the four-year collegiate career of senior Alli Lahiff (Haverhill, Mass.). Lahiff was already in the midst of a great match, but found an even sweeter ending as she recorded the match-clinching kill in the fifth set to lead the team to a comeback victory.

Lahiff finished with 12 kills, two aces and three blocks. Sophomore Naarah Cox (Boston, Mass.) led all players with an impressive 18 kills and five blocks. Sophomore Morgan Flynn (Reading, Mass.) collected a match best 23 digs. Sophomore setter Olivia Goodrich (Epping, N.H.) had a solid match running the offense with 47 assists and 18 digs.

Suffolk was led by a 10-kill effort from freshman Hannah Fabiano (Litchfield, N.H.). She added six digs, three aces and a pair of blocks. Freshman libero Dakhensey Marcellus (Brockton, Mass.) tallied a team best 14 digs. Junior setter Rachel Fancy (Agawam, Mass.) finished with 28 assists, eight digs and three aces. Junior Talia Lombardo (Windham, N.H.) contributed seven kills, 11 digs and three aces.

The first set was back and forth and featured eight ties and four lead changes. With the score tied at 22-22, the Chargers benefited from a pair of Suffolk miscues to take a 24-22 lead. The Rams came back to tie the set after a pair of Colby-Sawyer errors. Each side then recorded a point to make the score 25-25 before a kill from Lombardo and an ace from Fancy gave Suffolk the 27-25 victory.

The second set was tight early and was tied at 11-11. The Chargers then began to create separation with efficient attacking. Colby-Sawyer went in front 21-17 after a pair of Ram errors forcing a timeout. The home team then took a 24-17 after a kill from Cox, but Suffolk rattled off four straight points to cut the deficit to three. Colby-Sawyer closed the set thanks to a Suffolk service error, 25-21.  

There were five ties and four lead changes in the third set. A Courtney Murray kill tied the set at 20-20, but Suffolk used a 5-1 spurt capped by a Marcellus ace to take the set 25-21.

Trailing 2-1 in the match, Colby-Sawyer came out on fire in the fourth and took an 8-1 lead before Suffolk called a timeout. The Chargers continued to apply pressure and never looked back as they knotted the match at 2-2 with a convincing 25-9 fourth set victory.

The fifth set built on the drama from the previous sets as the frame saw nine ties and four lead changes. The Rams held a lead of two points on multiple occasions, with the latest coming at 11-9. Back-to-back kills from Naarah Cox pulled the Chargers even at 11-11. Colby-Sawyer then had match point at 14-12, but a Charger error and a Kayla Barbera (Wakefield, R.I.) brought Suffolk back in the set at 14-14. The home team received a kill from Rebecca Straubel (Altamont, N.Y.) to bring the Chargers to match point once again. That is when Alli Lahiff put her stamp on the evening with her 12th kill of the match to send the Chargers home with a 3-2 victory. 

For the latest on Colby-Sawyer Athletics, follow the Chargers on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CSCathletics), Twitter (www.twitter.com/CSCathletics) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/CSCathletics).