Syracuse Volleyball Gets Swept By ACC Foe
By Nick Luttrell
CitrusTV’s Volleyball Beat Reporter
On Thursday afternoon, Florida State took care of business and swept Syracuse in straight sets, 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-13) inside Tully Arena.
While the Seminoles came away with the seemingly easy win, the Orange looked every bit as good in the early stages of the first set. After a strong kill by Ella Saada, Syracuse had a 9-8 lead and momentum on their side. Despite this, it still felt like this lead wasn’t here to stay.
Just based on the eye test, you could see how much of a better team Florida State was even less than halfway through the first set. And as expected, the Seminoles rattled off five in a row a few points later and went on to win the first set 25-16.
The second set looked very similar to the first. The Orange seemed to be hanging around and even held an 8-7 lead at one point. But it was the same thing all over again. The Seminoles ended the set on a 10-3 run to take the second set 25-14 and increase their match lead to 2-0.
The third set was different. But it wasn’t a “good different” for Syracuse. After committing three straight errors to hand FSU the win in set two, Coach Yelin’s team seemed to never recover. The Seminoles continued their run as they jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the third and pretty much took care of business from that point forward as they would win the third set 25-13 to complete the sweep over the Orange.
One area that FSU strived in was hitting percentage as they finished with nearly triple the number of Syracuse at .378. The Orange came away with a measly .136 percentage. The hitting percentage differential is the largest mark of the season.
In simplified terms – it was not a good day for the Orange. When you play a team that is #27 in the country, you have to play your best game. And today, the Orange played one of their worst games of the season.
Unfortunately, because of COVID issues within the NC State program, Syracuse will not play the Wolfpack tomorrow. Instead, they will again go head to head in a rematch against Florida State. That game will begin at 5 pm and while it will not be televised, you can always follow @nickluttie for live updates.
naluttre@syr.edu | @nickluttie
