Syracuse Falls To No. 19 Florida State After Strong Second Set

Sunday, October 20

Syracuse, NY

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

12-8,0-8ACC

No. 19 Florida State

14-4,6-2ACC

Florida St.

Syracuse

Syracuse Falls To No. 19 Florida State After Strong Second Set

10/20/2024 6:09:00 PM | Volleyball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A strong second-set effort highlighted Sunday's match for the Syracuse University volleyball team (12-8, 0-8 ACC) against No. 19 Florida State (14-4, 6-2 ACC), but the Orange ultimately fell short in a 3-0 loss to the Seminoles at the Women's Building.

A late 4-0 Orange run gave Syracuse a 20-19 lead in the second set and 'Cuse held another lead at 21-20. Although the Seminoles rallied to take the set, it was another stellar showing for the Orange against one of the ACC's top teams.

"We did some really good things in this match," head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. "The key is to be more consistent with the things we are doing well. Overall, there are things from this match we can pick out and build on."

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HOW IT HAPPENED
Florida State took an early three-point advantage in the opening set, but an Ava Palm kill brought the Orange back within one at 7-6. The Seminoles took control of the set from there, launching a 9-3 run to go ahead 16-9. Palm registered two more late kills before Florida State secured a 25-15 victory.

After Florida State began the second set with a kill, a pair of kills from Zharia Harris-Waddy and Skylar George along with a Seminoles attack error gave 'Cuse an early 3-1 lead. Florida State responded by winning the next four points and eventually went ahead by four at 9-5. However, Syracuse engineered a 4-0 scoring run of its own with two kills a piece from Palm and George to knot the score at 9-9. The Seminoles quickly re-established a four-point lead at 15-11, but the Orange did not go away. Trailing 19-16, Syracuse won four consecutive points via back-to-back George aces and a pair of blocks from Sydney Moore and Veronica Sierzant to retake the lead. A Florida State kill evened the score at 20-20, but Sierzant gave Syracuse the lead right back with a kill on the next point. The Seminoles took the next two points to take a 22-21 lead, but a Harris-Waddy kill tied the score yet again. Florida State finally closed out the set by taking the last three points for a 25-22 win.

Syracuse started fast again in the third, winning four of the first five points highlighted by a Palm kill and a block by Palm and Harris-Waddy. However, the Seminoles countered the early Syracuse burst with a 14-4 run that moved them ahead 15-8. Kills by George and Palm put 'Cuse back within five, but Florida State pulled away again from there on the way to a 25-14 win.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Ava Palm reached double-digit kills for the fourth time in ACC play, as the graduate student's 12 paced the Orange. Palm's .357 hitting percentage was her best since hitting .382 against Cornell on Sept. 22. The graduate student also had eight digs, the second most on the team.
Veronica Sierzant tallied a team-high 23 assists, her third straight effort with at least 20 helpers. The sophomore also pitched in four digs and a pair of blocks.
Sophomore Greta Schlichter paced the Orange with nine digs, her third straight match with at least six. Nikki Shimao added seven of her own and Ashlee Gnau and Skylar George both posted six.
George also added two aces, both of which came late in the second set, to lead the team. The redshirt freshman finished with six kills to match her six digs.
Sydney Moore put down a team-best three blocks. She was involved in three of the team's four blocks on the day.
Syracuse hit .244 and had 14 kills in a high-level second set that saw Florida State register 19 kills.

UP NEXT
Syracuse faces a quick turnaround as the Orange get ready to host Virginia on Oct. 23 at the Women's Building. The match will be the first of two to air on ACC Network this season for Syracuse and will begin at 7 p.m.

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