Serratore Registers 1,000th Kill in 3-1 Win

Sunday, November 8

Syracuse, NY

1:00 PM

Syracuse University

18-7 (9-5ACC)

NC State

14-12 (3-11ACC)

NC State

Syracuse

11/8/2015 5:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse volleyball team came out on top in four sets against NC State (25-17, 25-17, 20-25, 25-16) on Sunday in the Women's Building. The Orange are now 18-7 on the season and 9-5 in conference play, while the Wolfpack falls to 14-12 and 3-11 in ACC play.

"We've been so focused from day one, even though we didn't know at that time who was going to be at the bottom of the conference, we were going to figure it out very quickly," said Head Coach Leonid Yelin. "We set a goal to make sure we take care of business when playing a team who is behind us…we achieved that goal today and we're moving on."

Senior outside hitter Nicolette Serratore recorded her 1,000th kill in the second-to-last point of the match, finishing the day with 11 kills and 13 digs. Senior outside hitter Silvi Uattara, also a member of the 1,000 kill club, posted a match-high 17 kills while adding nine digs and six total blocks.

Freshman middle blocker Santita Ebangwese played a pivotal role in the Orange's success at the net on the afternoon, registering a career-high 12 blocks, including three solo. Syracuse out-blocked NC State 20 total team blocks to eight.

Senior setter Gosia Wlaszczuk paced the Orange offense, racking up 46 assists while dishing out six kills of her own.

The two teams traded the first few points to start off the match, but a burst of energy from the Orange off of seven unanswered points put Syracuse up 12-5. A kill by senior Monika Salkute and a block by Uattara and Ebangwese forced a Wolfpack timeout with the Orange up 19-11.

The Orange continued to surge on offense heading into the final points of the set, with three out of the four final points coming off of kills by Ebangwese, Wlaszczuk, and Serratore, 25-17.

The second set began in similar fashion to the first with both squads swapping points before Syracuse took off on yet another run, out-scoring NC State 7-1 to put the Orange at a 16-6 advantage.

A mini-run by the Wolfpack narrowed the margin, 17-11, but a handful of unforced errors on NC State's end put Syracuse at a comfortable lead, 23-14. A kill by sophomore Amber Witherspoon and another unforced Wolfpack error sealed a 25-17 Orange victory in the second set.

The Wolfpack came out in the third set ready to hunt, starting off with a 5-1 lead and never looking back. Two errors on Syracuse's end put NC State at an 11-4 advantage, resulting in an Orange timeout.

The Orange bounced back following the timeout, going on a 7-2 run to cut the Wolfpack lead down to two, 13-11, thanks to a block and a subsequent kill by sophomore Leah Levert. Syracuse, however, continued to play catch-up for the rest of the set, as NC State took set three, 25-20.

Syracuse retained an early lead at the beginning of the fourth set and continued to widen the margin as the set continued. Subsequent kills from Uattara and an ace by Salkute put the Orange at a 17-10 advantage heading into the latter points of the set.

The Orange refused to let up, as five unforced errors in a row on NC State's end brought Syracuse within two points of the match, 23-14. Serratore's 1,000th career kill and a final kill by Wlaszczuk finalized a 25-16 victory for the Orange and a 3-1 overall victory.

The Orange head on a four-game road trip, starting off with a matchup at Duke on Friday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. in Durham, N.C.

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