'Cuse Completes Comeback Five-Set Victory Over Iowa State

Sunday, September 16

Ames, IA

1 pm

Syracuse University

4-4

Iowa State University

7-6

Syracuse

Iowa State

'Cuse Completes Comeback Five-Set Victory Over Iowa State

9/16/2018 4:04:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

AMES, Iowa – After dropping its first two sets, the Syracuse volleyball team completed a thrilling comeback five-set victory over RV Iowa State Sunday afternoon. Syracuse (4-4) used a .733 hitting percentage in the final set to defeat Iowa State by set scores of 18-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-1 and 15-9.

Santita Ebangwese led Syracuse with 15 kills on 26 attacks for a .500 hitting percentage. Amber Witherspoon and Yulia Yastrub both contributed 11 kills. Yastrub also added a career-high 19 digs for her first career double-double while Jalissa Trotter served up a season-high 49 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Iowa State opened the first set 3-0 before Syracuse responded with four straight points. The Cyclones used another string of four points to pull ahead 11-9 until the Orange fought their way back and kept it close with a kill from Shemanova that tied the match 13-13. Two kills from Jess Schaben and a service ace pushed the Cyclones back ahead 19-15 before Iowa State broke open the match on back-to-back Syracuse attack errors.

The Cyclones dominated the second set where they held Syracuse to only a .125 hitting percentage. Iowa State took an 11-7 lead before they saw the lead jump to 18-10 as Syracuse struggled to get its attack going.

Syracuse found a response to open the third set and match the Cyclones 7-7. The Orange took their first lead of the set at 11-10 before Ebangwese pushed the Syracuse lead to two. The Cyclones began to match Syracuse point-for-point in a set that would end with 13 ties and five lead changes. A service ace and back-to-back errors from Witherspoon were enough for a 17-14 Iowa State lead that looked to be enough to seal the match victory. Syracuse responded with five straight kills for a 23-20 lead and took the set on a pair of Iowa State attack errors.

Set four continued to be a battle as both teams quickly tallied six points and stayed even until a 6-1 run from the Orange gave them the 14-11 lead. Iowa State stayed close at 19-18 before giving up three consecutive attack errors that gave the Orange a 22-18 lead. An Ebangwese kill finally ended the set and held off the Cyclones fourth set comeback attempt.

Syracuse was able to take advantage of 13 service errors, a season-high for the Cyclones.

FIFTH SET BATTLES
This was the fifth match of the season that the Orange saw a fifth set and the third consecutive match. The Orange entered the day 2-2 in fifth set matches against an Iowa State team that had only one five-set match on the season.

HEAR FROM COACH LITTLE
"I think it was a great team comeback that they find the kind of ways to get energy off each other both on and off the court," said Associate Head Coach Erin Little. "Santita stepped up huge as a leader for us to guide that energy but we also had different people coming off the bench. They were able to step in right away to serve and provide defense for us as well as find some different spots on the floor. I think this really was the definition of a team win."

UP NEXT
Syracuse will kick-off ACC play with its home opener against Georgia Tech Friday, Sept. 21. The Match is set to begin at 7 p.m. in the Women's Building with free admission. Friday's match will feature "Meet the Team" night with free posters and post-game autographs. The Orange will stay at home to take on Clemson Sunday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m.