‘Cuse Comeback Bid Stymied By Virginia In Five-Set Classic

Wednesday, October 23

Syracuse, NY

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

12-9,0-9ACC

RV Virginia

16-4,6-3ACC

Virginia

Syracuse

‘Cuse Comeback Bid Stymied By Virginia In Five-Set Classic

10/23/2024 11:49:00 PM | Volleyball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – An excellent fourth-set performance helped the Syracuse University volleyball team (12-9, 0-9) force a final frame against Virginia (16-4, 6-3 ACC) on Wednesday night at the Women's Building, but the Orange could not complete the comeback, as they lost a tight fifth set to the Cavaliers.

This was the first time this season Syracuse won a fourth set to force a decisive fifth. Virginia, who received votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 poll and is positioned No. 35 in the current RPI rankings, overcame an early deficit in the final set to secure the road victory.

"I thought this was a really good performance for us," head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. "I'm proud of the way we performed, the way we fought and the way we represented ourselves today. If we can compete with a team like that throughout the entire match and have a chance to win, it shows that we are on the right track and we are progressing."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse overcame an early deficit to earn its first ACC set win at home this season. Down 6-3, 'Cuse responded with a 5-0 run that included a Sydney Moore kill, a block from Anastasiia Nikolnikova and Sara Wasiakowska and back-to-back aces by Greta Schlichter. After the Cavaliers tied the score at 8-8, Syracuse launched a 4-1 scoring stretch highlighted by two Sydnie Waller kills. Virginia went on to take an 18-17 lead, but Syracuse stormed back from there. A Virginia service error tied the score before kills by Ava Palm and Nikolnikova put 'Cuse up two. Those two then combined for a block to stretch the advantage to three, and another kill by Palm moved the lead to four. Virginia stopped the scoring run by winning the next point, but Nikolnikova put down another kill to give Syracuse a set point, which the Orange converted with a block by Moore to win 25-19.

Palm connected on a pair of kills early in the second and Syracuse took an early 3-2 lead. The Cavaliers came back to go ahead 10-6 before a pair of Virginia attack errors brought 'Cuse back within two. Virginia answered with an 8-1 run to go ahead 18-9 and reached set point at 24-16. Zharia Harris-Waddy erased the first set point with a kill and two more hitting errors by Virginia kept Syracuse alive, but the Cavaliers delivered a kill on the next point to win 25-19.

Virginia carried its momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 7-3 lead. Kills by Moore and Waller helped the Orange get back within one, but the Cavaliers went on to build as large as a five-point advantage. Both teams traded points throughout the middle stages of the set and a Harris-Waddy kill drew the Orange within two at 18-16. The Cavaliers won the next three points and did not look back on the way to a 25-22 victory.

After the Cavaliers won the first two points of the fourth set, Syracuse answered with a 4-0 run that began with a Palm kill and ended with a Harris-Waddy ace. Virginia fought back to take an 8-7 lead but 'Cuse won four of the next five points behind two kills from Skylar George and a Schlichter ace to pull ahead 11-9. After Virginia won the next point, the Orange went on another 4-1 scoring spree thanks to a pair of blocks and a kill by Harris-Waddy to go ahead 15-11. Both teams traded points until late in the set, when another 4-1 Orange run put 'Cuse up 21-15. The Cavaliers fought back to within two at 22-20 but kills by Moore and Palm secured a 25-21 Syracuse win, which forced a deciding set.

Syracuse raced out to a 3-0 lead behind a kill from Palm and a kill and block by Harris-Waddy. After a Virginia timeout, the Cavaliers won the next seven points to wrestle control of the set. However, 'Cuse answered with another 3-0 run that was capped with a block from Moore and Palm. After Virginia took an 8-6 lead, neither team won two points in a row the rest of the set. Harris-Waddy delivered two kills and Wasiakowska had one to help Syracuse keep pace with the Cavaliers late, but Virginia set up a match point at 14-12. The Orange saved one via a Virginia attack error, but Syracuse could not save the next, as the Cavaliers won 15-13 to secure a hard-fought victory.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Ava Palm became the first Syracuse player to register 20 kills in a match this season, as she finished with exactly 20 to lead the team. She also tallied 13 digs for her fourth double-double of the campaign and third in ACC play. Seven of Palm's kills came in Syracuse's two winning sets.
Two other Syracuse players tallied double-digit digs – Veronica Sierzant (14) and Skylar George (14). Sierzant also posted a team-high 24 assists for her third double-double in ACC play, while this was George's sixth time this season reaching double-digit digs.
Mira Ledermueller made her first start at setter in ACC play and racked up 21 assists to go along with seven digs.
Syracuse's middles were efficient throughout the match, with Zharia Harris-Waddy posting eight kills on 14 swings (.429 hitting percentage) and Sydney Moore putting down seven kills on 18 attempts (.278 hitting percentage). Anastasiia Nikolnikova was also effective with three kills on seven swings.
Moore was involved in four of Syracuse's eight blocks, which included a solo rejection to close out an opening-set win for the Orange.
Sara Wasiakowska tied Moore for the third most kills by a Syracuse player on the night with seven. It was an efficient night for the graduate transfer, as she finished with a .238 hitting percentage.
Greta Schlichter matched her career high with three aces. Harris-Waddy also hit three aces for the Orange.
Syracuse tallied 75 digs as a team, its second most in conference play this season. Schlichter, Ledermueller and Ashlee Gnau all finished with seven digs.
'Cuse surpassed 50 kills for the second time in ACC play this season with 53. Seven different Syracuse players had at least three kills.
The Orange hit .333 in the final set with seven kills and just one error. Syracuse hit .195 for the match, its best in an ACC contest since Sept. 29 at Duke (.209).

UP NEXT
Syracuse closes out its four-match homestand on Sunday against Virginia Tech. The contest at the Women's Building will begin at 1 p.m.

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