Villanova Tops SU In Four

Saturday, October 27

Villanova, Pa.

2:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(9-16, 1-9BE)

Villanova

(11-14, 5-5BE)

Syracuse

Villanova

Nicolette Serratore led the Orange offense with 17 kills and 15 digs for her third double-double of the season

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

10/27/2012 3:46:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score

Villanova, Pa. – Despite an Orange victory in the first set, the Syracuse volleyball team (9-16, 1-9) could not keep the offensive momentum alive as the Orange fell to the Villanova Wildcats (11-14, 5-5) in a tough four-set match (25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 14-25) on Saturday afternoon in the Jake Nevin Field House.

"Ball control is what killed us today and they also played great defense against us so they were able to cover a lot of balls that we would have normally had," head coach Leonid Yelin said.

The Orange got out to an early lead in the first set as a service ace from Nicolette Serratore put SU up 4-2 in the opening frame. After an offensive push from the Wildcats, the score was knotted at 12-12 heading into the first SU timeout of the match. Following the break, Syracuse settled into an offensive rhythm as Serratore's fourth kill of the match resulted in a 25-18 Orange victory in the first set.

The Wildcats opened the second set on a 4-0 unanswered run before a kill by Silvi Uattara put a point on the board for the Orange. Unable to jumpstart a scoring streak, the Orange called a timeout trailing by five at 11-6. Despite a small scoring run late in the frame, the Orange could not catch the Wildcat lead as Villanova took the second set 25-21. Villanova was helped out by five Syracuse attacking errors.

With the score tied at 10-10 in the third set the Wildcats pulled ahead of the Orange with a 4-1 run to set the score at 14-11 heading into an SU timeout. A kill from Serratore and a block from Uattara tied the score at 18-18 in the third set. As SU and Villanova continued to fight point-for-point, the Wildcats went up 23-22 after an Orange rotation error and finished off the set with 25-22 win.

Villanova opened the fourth set on another 4-0 run, before a kill from Uattara halted the offensive strike. Two Wildcat errors put the Orange within three points of the lead at 6-3, but SU could not settle into a rhythm as the Wildcats pulled away by as much as eight points. Following a SU timeout, a pair of kills from Clarey and Serratore helped set the score at 10-18, as the Orange attempted a final offensive push. Unable to execute, SU handed the Wildcats the fourth set and a win, falling 25-14.

Serratore led the Orange offense with her third double-double of the season with 17 kills, 15 digs and two blocks. Monika Salkute led at the net with six blocks, while libero Melina Violas and Gosia Wlaszczuk recorded 12 digs apiece.

Lauren Carpenter, CeCe Twitty and Krista Andersen all led the Wildcat offensive, as the trio all hit double-digit kills. Libero Mariah Henley posted 26 digs, while Twitty led at the net with four blocks.

SU will be back in action tomorrow squaring off against Georgetown (7-15, 1-9) at noon in the McDonough Arena. Syracuse will return home next weekend to begin a four-game homestand to conclude the 2012 season. The Orange hosts St. John's on Friday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. in the Women's Building before taking on UConn on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.