The Orange dominated the first set against Miami and forced a set-point in the third set, proving the Orange could stay with the Hurricanes. Polina Shemanova recorded 22 kills, her second most of the season. 

But it wasn’t enough. Despite sweeping Virginia and playing exceptionally well for one set against No.4 Pittsburgh last weekend, Syracuse (5-9, 2-5 Atlantic Coast) could not continue the momentum as it started its first of four consecutive road games with a 3-1 loss. Matched up against a Miami (8-7, 4-3 ACC) side that lost 3-2 against Virginia two weeks ago and beat Wake Forest in straight sets, the Orange struggled on Friday.

After winning the first set with ease, Syracuse proceeded to collapse in the second — the Orange scored a mere 12 points in one of its lowest scoring sets of the season.

Re-energized and awake after its second set woes, Syracuse was sharp in a crucial third set, keeping the score close and hanging around to force a set-point. 12 points later, the Orange fell 32-30 in a heavily contested set.

Though early season errors plagued the Orange, including 15 service errors in their home opener against Wake Forest, things looked more hopeful as the team minimized errors last weekend. But today, those errors returned: 12 service errors, six reception errors, three blocking errors and three ball-handling errors contributed to the Orange’s fifth ACC loss of the year.

“It’s not up to us,” head coach Leonid Yelin said of his team’s errors after the Wake Forest loss on Oct. 4. “Because with most of those errors, it’s not skills: it’s here (gesturing to his head).”

Friday, Syracuse was without freshman stud Marina Markova, who suffered a finger injury at practice on Tuesday that likely puts her out for the season, according Yelin. The outside-hitter-converted-middle-blocker has recorded 101 kills in her first season for the Orange, currently the third most on the team.

With Markova out, Shemanova and Ella Saada stepped up; they were responsible for 35 of the Orange’s 49 kills.

Though last week Yelin had the luxury of being able to leave his starting lineup in for most of the game against Virginia, rotating seven players for six spots on the court, tonight, his frequent substitutions returned. Nine players appeared in all four sets against the Hurricanes.

Defensively, senior Aliah Bowllan recorded 16 digs in her third game back from injury, and juniors Kendra Luckacs and Yuliia Yastrub played in every set.

The Orange now play Florida State on Sunday, a team that was in the top-25 last week before falling off the list due to a five-set loss at North Carolina.

Published on October 19, 2019 at 12:04 am

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16