Orange Push No. 5 Stanford In First Set, Drop Match To Cardinal

Friday, October 11

Stanford, CA

10 p.m.

Syracuse University

12-5,0-5ACC

No. 5 Stanford

12-2,4-1ACC

Syracuse

Stanford

Photo by: Glen Mitchell, Stanford Athletics

Orange Push No. 5 Stanford In First Set, Drop Match To Cardinal

10/11/2024 11:46:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – A valiant effort had the Syracuse University volleyball team (12-5, 0-5 ACC) within two points of No. 5 Stanford (12-2, 4-1 ACC) late in the first set Friday night at Maples Pavilion, but the Orange ultimately could not complete a comeback before losing the match in straight sets.

This was Syracuse's third consecutive match against an ACC team ranked in the top 15 of this week's AVCA top 25 poll, as the Orange played No. 15 SMU and No. 1 Pittsburgh last weekend.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse got off to a fast start in the opening set, building an early 7-4 lead. Veronica Sierzant, Anastasiia Nikolnikova and Sydnie Waller all had kills in the first 11 points to help establish the advantage for the Orange. Stanford fought back and retook the lead at 9-8 before 'Cuse retied the score off a Cardinal attack error. An 8-2 Stanford run put the Cardinal up 17-11 but Syracuse kept fighting, as a block by Sierzant and Nikolnikova sparked a 3-0 run that forced a Stanford timeout. The Orange got the score within two on several occasions in the closing stages of the frame, including at 23-21 after a Nikolnikova kill. However, an Ava Palm service error on the ensuing serve gave the Cardinal set points. Sierzant erased one set point with a kill, but Stanford responded with a kill of its own to clinch a tight 25-22 win.

The Cardinal won four of the first five points in the second set, but Syracuse pulled back within one off a Stanford attack error and a block from Nikolnikova and Palm. However, Stanford built a commanding lead later in the set, as a 10-1 run gave the Cardinal a 19-8 lead. Stanford went on to close out a 25-13 victory.

The nationally-ranked Cardinal cruised in the third set, winning eight of the first nine points on the way to a 25-8 win to close out the match.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Sydnie Waller led the Orange with five kills on the night. This was the sophomore's second time reaching at least five kills in ACC play, as she recorded seven against Duke on Sept. 29.
Anastasiia Nikolnikova put away three kills on eight swings, finishing with a .250 hitting percentage. The junior also had a team-high five blocks, her seventh match this season with five or more and her first in conference play.
Veronica Sierzant made her sixth start of the season at setter and paced the Orange with 13 assists. The sophomore was also second on the team with three blocks and added a pair of kills in the opening set.
Skylar George paced the Orange with seven digs. Sara Wasiakowska was second on the team with five and Nikki Shimao added four.
As a team, Syracuse had seven blocks, which matched Stanford's seven on the night.

UP NEXT
Syracuse is back in action tomorrow night against California. The match at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley is slated to begin at 10 p.m. and will be streamed on ACCNX.

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