Volleyball Loses Home Opener to Iowa

Friday, September 15

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

1-8,0-0ACC

Iowa

7-4,0-0Big Ten

Iowa

Syracuse

9/15/2023 10:05:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse was defeated by Iowa (7-4) on Friday night in straight sets (25-21, 25-20, 25-15). It was the home opener for the Orange at the Women's Building and the first game of the Syracuse/Cornell Invitational.

"I thought that our team did a great job creating an atmosphere that allowed us to have chemistry on the court and compete against a good team like Iowa," said head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. "I think we were stable in our execution and that allowed us to compete with them early on. I thought the serve-receive was much better than in our previous match. Overall, we were okay, but if we were able to reduce the runs that Iowa created, we might have had a different result."

'Cuse (1-8) got off to a hot start, creating a five-point run in the beginning of the first frame to make the score 6-2. Iowa rallied back with a 7-1 scoring run of their own to take the lead, 9-7. Both teams exchanged points throughout the set, but Iowa stretched its lead late in the frame to 22-17. The Orange did not back down, going on a 4-1 run late to make the score 23-21, but ultimately losing the set, 25-21.

It was a game of runs in the second set, each team creating impactful runs throughout the frame. While down 18-13, the Orange scored five-straight points to even the score at 18-all. The Hawkeyes retaliated with their own succeeding five-point scoring run. It was a well contested battle for the entirety of the frame, but the Hawkeyes came out on top, 25-20.

Syracuse and Iowa were both unable to secure any significant runs to start the third frame, with both teams scoring points early to tie the set at 5. The Hawkeyes pushed to take the lead, going on a five-point run to lead the frame 10-5. Iowa continued its strong play, extending its lead to 18-9. The Hawkeyes would go on to win the set, 25-15, and the match 3-0. The Orange offense was led by Ariana Joubert and Greta Schlichter, who finished the match with 10 and nine kills, respectively.

Of Note:

Sophomore Ariana Joubert paced 'Cuse's attack with 10 kills on 25 attacks in the match, contributing 11.5 points.
It was the first appearance for Joubert since being cleared to return from injury.
Graduate Lauren McCabe was a force against the Hawkeyes attacks, totaling seven points with one solo block and two block assists.
Freshman Greta Schlichter had 10 points in the match, accruing nine kills and one service ace.

Up Next:
Syracuse will be back on the home court to wrap up the Syracuse/Cornell Invitational on Saturday, September 16 at 2 p.m. against Morgan State.

The match against Morgan State honors the Syracuse-MEAC Alliance, a 10-year partnership which began in the fall of 2021, scheduling agreement goal of up to 50 competitions between Syracuse and MEAC institutions over the course of the next decade. The goal of the Syracuse-MEAC Alliance is to connect institutions, student-athletes, staff and alumni between Syracuse University and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) across the Atlantic coastline that make up the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Additional elements of the Alliance include an internship exchange program, various seminars and professional conferences as well as visiting professorships/lectureships. To learn more about the Syracuse-MEAC Alliance, click here.

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