SU Swept By No. 11 UNC

Friday, October 4

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

5-10, 0-3ACC

North Carolina

14-0, 3-0ACC

North Carolina

Syracuse

Lindsay McCabe's four block assists moved her into eighth on the program's all-time list. She now has 298 in her career.

10/4/2013 9:37:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score | Season Statistics

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Despite putting together one of their best all-around performances in the first two sets, the Syracuse women's volleyball couldn't hang with nationally ranked No. 11 North Carolina, falling in straight sets on Friday, Oct. 4 at the Women's Building.

"We couldn't sustain," said head coach Leonid Yelin. "It's a complicated game. I think it's mental. You keep the same technique to all of a sudden not doing good."

SU (5-10, 0-3 ACC) stuck with the Tar Heels (14-0, 3-0) every step of the way throughout the first two sets, but failed to capitalize down the stretch in either. UNC cruised to a win in the final set to earn the victory (25-21, 25-20, 25-15). In three matches to open ACC play, Syracuse has played a pair of nationally ranked opponents (UNC and Florida State) and another that is receiving votes (Miami).

Junior Nicolette Serratore and sophomore Silvi Uattara led the Orange attack with nine and eight kills, respectively. The duo shared team-high honors with seven digs. Freshman Erica Handley had a solid all-around game with 21 assists, five digs three aces and three kills on three attempts.

With a game-high four block assists in the match, redshirt junior Lindsay McCabe took over sole possession of eighth place on the career block assist with 298.

The Orange grabbed an early lead in the first set thanks to four straight points for a 6-4 lead. North Carolina responded with five of their own to go up 9-6 and never trailed again. SU stayed close after seven consecutive sideouts brought the tally up to 12-10 in favor of the visitors. Still within two at 16-14, Syracuse registered three straight miscues to give UNC a 19-14 edge. Following back-to-back kills from sophomore Monika Salkute, SU dwindled the deficit to 22-20, but the Tar Heels scored three of the final four points to close out the set.

In the second set, SU continued keeping pace with the nationally ranked Tar Heels and maintained a lead midway through the set. Trailing 6-5, a kill by redshirt freshman Valeriya Shaipova and back-to-back blocks for Serratore and McCabe put SU on top 8-6. Consecutive kills by the Tar Heels evened the score, however Syracuse took their largest advantage of the match after a 5-1 run aided by a kill and a pair of blocks from McCabe. Trailing 16-14, UNC rattled off five points in a row, including two service aces from Abigail Curry for 19-16 lead. The quick outburst by the Tar Heels sparked an 11-4 run which ultimately ended the set. Paige Neuenfeldt served up two more aces for UNC during the stretch.

Looking to extend the match, Handley opened the third set with a pair of aces to stake a 2-0 lead for the Orange. A kill from Serratore kept the Orange with the lead at 7-4, when North Carolina began chipping away. A four-point run not only gave UNC their first lead at 8-7, but also turned into an 8-1 spurt for a 12-8 advantage. After taking their largest lead in the entire match at 20-12, SU was able to close the gap to 20-15. Behind the reigning ACC Player of the Week Jovana Bjelica, UNC recorded the last five points to take the match. The Tar Heels put together their best offensivce performance of the night in the final set with a .400 hitting percentage while limiting the Orange to .000 with seven errors.

Bjelica led all players with 14 kills and a .440 hitting clip. Leigh Andrew finished with a game-high 10 digs for North Carolina. Reigning ACC Freshman of the Week Abigail Curry (18) and Jordyn Schnabl (19) combined for 37 assists.

Syracuse takes tomorrow off before returning to the court to face-off against NC State on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. in the Women's Building.