Back to Reality for Syracuse Volleyball
By Annie Klaff
CitrusTV Volleyball Beat Reporter
After a stride of three wins, Syracuse Volleyball experienced one tough weekend. SU started off the weekend in South Bend, IN with a 0-3 loss to Notre Dame. Today didn’t bring any better luck when the Orange then fell to third ranked Louisville 0-3 as well.
Despite the result, ‘Cuse held on tight to the Cardinals throughout the first two sets. Both sets looked almost identical.
Syracuse certainly gave Louisville a run for their money in set one, forcing a win by two out of the Cards. Unfortunately though, Louisville secured the start of the match with a 26-24 win. Set two ended up the exact same way.
Unlike Friday night when Notre Dame dominated court play, Syracuse bested or tied Louisville in four areas of play. The Orange tallied on three more kills than the Cardinals with 39-36, five more digs, and one more assist. The two teams matched up evenly in service aces with three each.
Similarly to Friday however, the Orange still struggled to play a clean and consistent match. SU doubled Louisville in errors out on the court with 28. Striving for clean play has been a necessary goal for Syracuse even after their successful weekend at home a week ago. Head Coach Yelin mentioned last week that tidying up on the court and giving up easy points were ways the team needed to improve upon.
For most Syracuse players today, there were great boosts in personal play since Friday. Senior Polina Shemanova led the match in kills with 17. Elena Karakasi and Lauren Hogan were both only one assist or dig (respectively) behind Louisville players who led the match.
While the scoreboard’s straight-set sweep doesn’t show it, Syracuse put up a good fight today against the ACC leader.
Moving forward, SU takes on both NC State and UNC next weekend back at home. NC State is right below Syracuse in the conference table, after dropping to seventh from this weekend alone. It might seem as if SU still has the advantage, but junior Abby Casiano always says to never underestimate the opponent.
Friday’s match begins at 12 P.M. in the Women’s Building.
aklaff@citrustv.net | @annieklaff
