Syracuse Volleyball Wins First Set of ACC Play in 3-1 Loss to NC State
By Zac Ventola | @ZacVentola
Raleigh, NC – Syracuse volleyball (5-9, 0-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) has finally won a set in ACC play. SU fell 3-1 Friday night to NC State (11-5, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Orange stood up to the challenge of the Wolfpack early on before collapsing in the latter half of the match.
Last time out for the ‘Cuse was a straight-sets loss to second-ranked Pittsburgh in the Women’s Building. SU showed some fight in the battle, putting up at 20 points in each set against one of the best teams in the nation.
At the start of Friday’s match, a similar story was told. The ‘Cuse led by as much as four points toward the beginning of the set, but that was quickly wiped away. A trio of Wolfpack service aces, plus five kills from outside hitter Rebecca Ring, helped NC State clinch the first set-win 25-21.
In the second set, however, the tides turned.
After a back-and-forth start, Syracuse began to pull away early on. The Orange went on a seven-point run to boast an 11-4 lead, thanks in part to kills by middle blocker Abby Nicholson and outside hitters Kiernan Stamey and Marie Laurio.
SU continued to ride the momentum past the media timeout, eventually taking a 16-7 lead. However, that’s when NC State began to fight back. The Wolfpack had a trio of three-point runs to cut the deficit to as few as two points. However, it was too little, too late. Syracuse won the second set, 25-22.
The Orange simply never re-gained the highs of that set-win, however. The Wolfpack dominated in the third set, soaring to a 13-5 lead early on. SU later went on a four-point run to cut the deficit to just three, but NC State responded with seven in a row. The ‘Cuse dropped the third set by a 25-14 deficit.
Despite that domination, the fourth set was even worse for Syracuse. NC State went on three separate four-point runs prior to the media timeout. Another six-point Wolfpack run afterwards put the set, and the match, out of reach for the Orange. SU lost the third set, 25-12.
Syracuse struggled to diversify its offensive options on Friday. Stamey led the way with 16 kills, while Laurio had the next-highest tally with just seven. On the other side, NC State had four players tally double-digit kills.
The ‘Cuse remains in search of its first ACC win. Its next opportunity to do so comes this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. against Wake Forest (7-9, 1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).
For coverage of the Orange vs. Demon Deacons and the rest of Syracuse volleyball’s season, follow @ZacVentola and @CitrusTVSports on X.
