Volleyball Suffers First Loss In Conference Opener

Friday, September 27

Chapel Hill, NC

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

12-1,0-1ACC

North Carolina

9-1,1-0ACC

Syracuse

North Carolina

Volleyball Suffers First Loss In Conference Opener

9/27/2024 9:25:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Syracuse University volleyball team (12-1, 0-1 ACC) suffered its first setback of the 2024 campaign Friday at the hands of the North Carolina Tar Heels (9-1, 1-0 ACC) at historic Carmichael Arena.

The Heels swept the Orange 3-0 in the first ACC contest this season for both squads. 'Cuse battled back in a tight third set and came close to forcing a fourth but could not overcome a strong finish by Carolina.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After North Carolina won the first point of the match, Syracuse claimed the next four by way of kills from Sydney Moore and Anastasiia Nikolnikova and a pair of Tar Heel attack errors. Two more Nikolnikova kills helped 'Cuse go ahead 6-4, but the Heels stormed back from there, winning 19 of the next 29 points to earn a 25-14 victory.

North Carolina took the opening point of the second set and went on to win without ever trailing. Syracuse's first block of the match saved a set point, but the Heels closed out the victory on their next opportunity.

Following a quiet first two sets, the Syracuse block roared back to life early in the third, as three straight rejections helped the Orange build a 6-4 lead. Nikolnikova was involved in all three blocks. The Tar Heels responded and went ahead 10-8 before another 3-0 Syracuse run capped by another block from Moore gave the Orange back the lead. 'Cuse led by as many as three at 19-16, but North Carolina chipped away at the deficit. With the score tied at 20-20, the Heels surrendered a pair of points off a service and attack error to put the Orange within striking distance of a fourth set. However, North Carolina won the next five points to close out the match with a 25-22 win.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Veronica Sierzant registered the second double-double of her 'Cuse career with 12 assists and a career-high 11 digs, which were also the most on the team. This was the sophomore's first time reaching double-digit digs in a match.
Anastasiia Nikolnikova finished with a team-high six kills on 10 swings, her fifth straight match hitting .400 or better. She also led the team with four blocks.
Ava Palm tallied five kills and finished second on the team with seven digs.
Sydney Moore put down three blocks for the Orange. She has at least three blocks in three consecutive contests.
Co-captain Nikki Shimao made her Syracuse debut in the third set. The graduate student tallied eight receptions and a pair of digs.
Syracuse responded with six blocks in the third set after only having one in the first two frames.

UP NEXT
The Orange close out their first weekend of ACC play on Sunday with a match against Duke in Durham. The contest is slated for a 1 p.m. start on ACCNX.

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