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Syracuse University
Virginia Tech
Orange Volleyball Loses Heartbreaker, 3-2, Versus Virginia Tech on Senior Day
11/9/2003 4:03:58 PM | Volleyball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse volleyball team won the first two games, 30-16, 30-25, and was poised to sweep Virginia Tech on Senior Day, but the Hokies stormed back to win games three and four, 30-24, 30-26. In the deciding game five, the Orangewomen had two opportunities to put Tech away, but the Hokies were victorious, 17-15. SU is now 16-14 overall and 3-7 in the BIG EAST, while Virginia Tech improves to 13-13 overall and 7-4 in the league.
The Orangewomen hit a blistering .429 in the first game with 15 kills and three errors on 28 attempts. Syracuse had a .281 hitting percentage for the match with 80 kills and 24 errors on 199 attempts. Virginia Tech's best hitting performance came in game three when the Hokies had 20 kills and three errors on 42 attempts for a .405 hitting percentage. SU had just two errors on 25 attempts in the fifth game, but lost for the seventh time in eight tries. Syracuse's only five-game win of the season was in its first match of the season against Albany.
Freshman Erin McQuillin tied her career high with 15 kills on 29 attempts and hit .345. She had a personal-best four aces and added three block assists. Sophomore Kristen Conway recorded a double-double with 22 kills on a career-high 58 attempts and posted a 10 digs. Sophomore Kelly Duan finished with 15 kills on 35 attempts, and junior Morgan Jones recorded 17 kills on 40 attempts for a team-best .375 hitting percentage. Sophomore Kathryn Dercher had 21 assists and six digs, while classmate Aila Dommestrup led the Orange with 42 assists and added six digs and three blocks. Sophomore Katie Allen posted five kills and four total blocks. Senior Christen Casey anchored the back-row defense with a match-high 22 digs, and classmate Michaela Skelly notched 12 digs and two aces.
Katie Esbrook led all players with a .615 hitting percentage on 17 kills and just one error on 26 attempts. She added five digs and four blocks. Melissa Markowski notched a double-double with 64 assists and 16 digs. Annie Spicer also had a double-double with 16 kills on 55 attempts and 13 digs. Colette Ramirez notched 12 kills and eight digs, and Jenny Hill led the Hokies with 20 kills. Allie Kupec was a force at the net with seven kills and six blocks. Ashley Bayer led Tech with 21 digs.
Syracuse goes on the road for its final weekend of competition. The Orange face non-conference foe Robert Morris on Friday at 7:00 p.m. SU then travels to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a BIG EAST match at 1:00 p.m., and closes the season at West Virginia on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
