Syracuse Defeats Boston College in a Five-Set Marathon
Sunday, Nov 24, 2019 at 4:46 pm by
Sports Editor
By Brad Klein
CitrusTV Women’s Volleyball Beat Reporter
At this point in the season, Syracuse is striving to play consistently well other than occasionally great. SU has seen ups with wins against top-tier teams like Louisville and downs with the devastating injury to freshman phenom Marina Markova.
After losing their last two matches on the road, Syracuse (11-13, 8-9 Atlantic Coast) returned to the Women’s Building to defeat Boston College (19-11, 10-7 Atlantic Coast) in five sets.
Polina Shemanova has been the common denominator for Syracuse through thick and thin. The sophomore slammed 24 kills in the win, adding 11 digs for her 12th double-double the season.
Shemanova’s five kills in the first set were not enough as the Eagles edged the Orange 25-23. The Russian committed two costly attack errors near the end of the frame. She finished the match with 11 errors. Ella Saada added a service error which gave Boston College the space they needed to overcome Syracuse in this first set.
The Orange struck back with a 25-20 second-set victory. SU committed just two errors in the second frame compared to eight in the first set. Boston College, on the other hand, made 10 mistakes.
The Eagles continued to mount the errors with 11 in the next set, but still won the third frame 25-21 to take a 2-1 lead. The Orange never trailed in the fourth set, and forced a fifth frame with a triumphant 25-16 victory.
It should hardly come as a surprise that the final set belonged to Syracuse at home. Head Coach Leonid Yelin has said on multiple occasions that SU relishes playing in front of a home crowd. The only problem is that the Orange have played about 70 percent of the season on the road.
Syracuse won the final set 15-9, and they put on a clinic in the process. SU committed just one errors in the frame.
The Orange are back in action on Friday when they host Clemson at 2 o’clock on Senior Day.
bwklein@syr.edu | @BradKlein15
