Orange Lose in Four Sets to Wake Forest

Sunday, October 8

Syracuse, N.Y.

12 p.m.

Syracuse University

2-14,0-6ACC

Wake Forest

13-4,4-2ACC

Wake Forest

Syracuse

10/8/2023 5:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Highlights

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse lost to Wake Forest (13-4, 4-2 ACC) in four sets (25-23, 19-25, 16-25, 19-25) on Sunday afternoon. Junior Laila Smith and freshman Zharia Harris-Waddy were key players for the Orange, combining for seven total blocks including five solo.

"Overall, we had a much better performance today than on Friday," said head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. "The energy level, the effort and the execution were at a higher level. We were able to achieve some of our goals, and that allowed us to be in competition with Wake Forest today."

'Cuse (2-14, 0-6 ACC) was neck-and-neck with Wake Forest to begin the match, taking a 5-4 lead early after a kill from freshman Greta Schlichter. The Demon Deacons were able to put together a 7-1 run capped off by an ace from Emmy Ogogor, forcing a Syracuse timeout down 11-6. The Orange came out of the break strong, putting together a 5-1 point run to bring the score within one, 12-11 in favor of Wake Forest. After being down three points, 'Cuse brought it back to within one, down 17-16. A late 8-2 run from the Orange allowed them to take the lead, 24-21. A kill from Smith finished the first set in the win column for the Orange, 25-23.

The Orange were able to bring the momentum into the second frame, scoring an early 6-1 run to bring their lead to 8-5, forcing a timeout from Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons answered with a 5-1 run of their own out of the break, taking the lead from the Orange, 10-9. After being tied at 16-16, Wake Forest went on a three-point run to force a 'Cuse timeout, 19-16. The Demon Deacons would finish the set with another three-point run to win the second frame, 25-19.

The third frame saw a hot start for the Orange, as graduate Alyssa Bert accrued two consecutive aces to give 'Cuse an early lead, 4-1. Wake Forest responded with a four-point run to take back the lead, 5-4. After some back-and-forth led to an equal score, 10-10, Wake Forest put on another four-point run to take the lead, 14-10. The Demon Deacons kept the lead through the rest of the frame, ending the set with an 8-3 scoring run to take the third frame of the match, 25-16.

The Orange had success to begin the fourth set, taking another early lead at 4-1 after kills from Junior Cherlin Antonio and graduate Lauren McCabe. A 5-1 scoring run from the Demon Deacons allowed them to take the lead, 6-5. 'Cuse tied the score at 9-9 before Wake Forest went on a three-point run to bring the score to 12-9. The Demon Deacons later brought their lead to four, 19-15, before the Orange went on a 4-1 run to bring the Wake Forest lead back down to one, 20-19. A late timeout by Wake Forest was effective, as they put away the set and match with a five-point run, 25-19.

Of Note:

Antonio totaled a team-high 14.5 points in the match with 12 kills.
Harris-Waddy was a close second to Antonio, scoring 14 points including nine kills, two solo blocks and four block assists.
Smith had a match-high three solo blocks, accumulating seven kills and scoring ten points for the squad.
Graduate Alyssa Bert served up three aces and had a team-high 13 digs.

Next Match:
The Orange will be back at home next weekend to continue their home stand, facing North Carolina on Friday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. and Duke on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m.

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