Orange Edge Demon Deacons In Five Sets

Friday, September 30

Winston-Salem, NC

5:00 PM

Syracuse University

7-6,3-0ACC

Wake Forest

9-5,1-2ACC

Syracuse

Wake Forest

Photo by: SU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

9/30/2022 9:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Syracuse Volleyball (7-6, 3-0 ACC) remains undefeated in league play after a five-set (24-26, 17-25, 25-16, 26-24, 15-12) road victory over Wake Forest (9-5, 1-2 ACC) inside Reynolds Gymnasium on Friday afternoon.

"I'm so proud of this team," said head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. "This squad has been willing to put the work in and it shows. They followed through and stayed the course with the game plan, which resulted in a great team win."

DOWN GO THE DEMON DECONS pic.twitter.com/QEU9ky3zSF
— Syracuse Volleyball (@CuseVB) September 30, 2022

Wake Forest managed to steal the first two sets of the match before the Orange staged a comeback effort in sets three and four, which in turn forced the fifth frame.

In the fifth set, the Orange were the first to make it to eight points, kills from Naomi Franco and Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk cemented an 8-5 lead. From that point forward 'Cuse never gave up its lead, going on a 5-2 run to clinch the victory.

Tonight's win for the Orange moves the all-time series versus Wake Forest to 11-1. The five-frame win also marks the first time since 2018 at Syracuse is 3-0 to open conference play. Back in 2018, the Demon Deacons were one of the three teams that the Orange beat to open the league schedule.

Three Orange's recorded double-doubles in the match, Polina Shemanova led with 28 kills and 16 digs, Riley Hoffman followed with 29 assists and 15 digs, while Alyssa Bert recorded 11 assists and 15 digs.

'Cuse also had five players set or tie a career-high. Naomi Franco was on fire with a career-high 23 kills. The Fayetteville, Ga. native led the squad with an impressive .543% hitting clip. Hoffman's 29 assists and 15 digs qualify as new career highs, Bert's 11 assists accounted for a new high for her as well. Freshman Ariana Joubert locked in a career-high four digs. Lastly, Lauren Woodford tied previous career highs of 28 assists and two service aces.

As a team, 'Cuse paced Wake Forest in points (87-80), kills (72-62), aces (8-4), and assists (70-61). The Demon Deacons led in blocks (7-14) and digs (63-64).

Up next 'Cuse will face Virginia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 2nd at 1 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va. The match will stream live on ACCNX.