Opening Day Sweep for the Orange; Match vs. Albany is Saturday

Friday, August 27

Syracuse, NY

11 am

Syracuse University

1-0,0-0ACC

Buffalo

0-1,0-0MAC

Buffalo

Syracuse

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

Opening Day Sweep for the Orange; Match vs. Albany is Saturday

8/27/2021 9:49:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Match Highlights Syracuse vs Buffalo Photos Syracuse vs UConn Photos

Live Video: ACCNX
Live Coverage: Stats
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange volleyball team won back-to-back matches to begin the 2021 season, beating Buffalo, 3-2, and Connecticut, 3-0, on Friday at the Women's Building. It marks the second year in a row that the Orange won a pair of season-opening matches at home. In 2020-21, the Orange swept then-defending ACC Champion Pittsburgh on back-to-back days.

"We all know the first match was not the way we would have liked to play, and there is still work to do," said head coach Leonid Yelin. "Nobody is going to be perfect right off the bat. We have room to get better and we all know that. It's not like we were crazy disappointed after the first match, it's not like we are crazy excited about the second match. We know what we have to do to do better."

Syracuse will play Albany on Saturday, August 28th at 7 p.m. in the Women's Building. Admission to Orange volleyball matches is free. All fans attending games must adhere to Syracuse University's COVID-19 policy, which can be found here.

Syracuse 3, Buffalo 2
Senior Polina Shemanova was one of four Orange who recorded double-digit kills in the 3-2 win against the Bulls. Shemanova put away 23 kills, while junior Marina Markova added 14 and junior Abby Casiano and sophomore Naomi Franco each had 10. Casiano and Franco paced the Syracuse defense at the net with nine blocks each. Senior Elena Karakasi had 40 assists in the match.

Syracuse won the first set, 25-20, paced by Shemanova's seven kills. The Orange led for most of the second set until the Bulls scored five straight points to come back from a two point deficit, 22-20, and win 25-22. The teams split the next two sets, with Syracuse taking the third, 25-12, and Buffalo rallying to win the fourth, 27-25. In the fifth set, Markova recorded four kills to lead the Orange to a 15-9 set win and a 3-2 victory in the match.

Syracuse 3, Connecticut 0
Shemanova and Markova paced the offense against the Huskies, recording 14 and 13 kills, respectively. With the Orange trailing 7-6, in the first set, Karakasi sparked a run serving for five consecutive points to help the Orange take an 11-7 advantage. Syracuse went on to win the set 25-18. Syracuse won the second set, 25-21, and closed out the match with a 25-20 victory in the third set.

Of Note

Senior Polina Shemanova climbed two spots on the Syracuse career kills record list recording 37 in two matches to increase her career total to 1,059. She passed Jessica Paarlberg (1,040 kills) and Noemie Lefebvre (1,057). Morgan Jones is 14th with 1,066 from 2001 to 2004.
Senior setter Elena Karakasi surpassed the 1,500 career sets plateau. She ranks 10th on the Orange career list for sets with 1,523.
Senior Yuliia Yastrub 24 digs from the libero position, where she played due to the absence of 2020-21 ACC All-Rookie selection Lauren Hogan, who was out with an injury.

Saturday Schedule (Aug. 28)
11 am -- Buffalo vs. Albany
3 pm -- Connecticut vs. Buffalo
7 pm -- Syracuse vs. Albany (ACCNX)

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