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In a close second set, outside hitter Ella Saada stepped up to the net and checked the positioning of Wake Forest’s blockers as she waited for fellow outside hitter Yuliia Yastrub to serve. Syracuse led 8-7 and had already won the first set by a comfortable nine-point margin.

After a Demon Deacon sent a powerful kill attempt to the middle of the Orange half-court, Saada dove and saved the ball, then jumped up off the ground and denied another kill attempt alongside middle blocker Abby Casiano. On the next play, libero Lauren Hogan set the ball for Saada, who elevated and drove a powerful kill past the Wake Forest defense. Saada and Casiano ascended to the net again to reject another WF effort on the next play, creating a 4-0 run for the Orange and a lead that it wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the set.

Saada had her best performance of the season Friday in her second-to-last game in the Women’s Building. The senior led SU in kills (14) and points (16), both of which were season-highs and were her most since Nov. 17, 2019 at Notre Dame. She also set her season-high in blocks (four), second behind Casiano, in Syracuse’s (6-7, 6-7 Atlantic Coast) 3-0 straight-set win over ACC bottom-feeder Wake Forest (0-13, 0-12).

“I’m happy that this is how I’m going to finish here,” Saada said postgame. “I want to finish strong and feel good about my final games here.”

Saada’s been a constant for head coach Leonid Yelin’s team since arriving at Syracuse in 2017 and making the All-ACC freshman team. The senior’s played in all 102 games of her Syracuse career and has a team-high 112 kills this season.

On the offensive front, Saada had her high highest percentage (.423) since the 2020-21 season resumed this spring. The key was alternating between powerful spikes and soft touches while attacking to take full advantage of WF’s defenders, she said postgame.

“You need to play smart,” Saada said about her approach. “Catch them when they don’t expect it.”

Without Marina Markova and Polina Shemanova, who are in Russia because of complications with their visas that prevent them from returning to Syracuse, Saada was never substituted throughout the match. She took breaks only during timeouts and challenge pauses. Yelin said this wasn’t unusual — he needed Saada to step up for the Orange, and she delivered.

“Normally, she doesn’t go off the court too often,” Yelin said. “But today, even if I’d like to, I had no substitutions, so we had no choice. She had to stay there.”

Saada had a slow start to the spring season when her hitting percentage never rose above .250 — she had countless attack attempts but recorded numerous errors. But Yelin said performances like Saada’s on Friday reflect how much she’s grown since first arriving on campus. 

“Her progress is in how she plays for our team,” Yelin said. “She came to us not as a typical freshman. She is improving by finding ways to be more helpful for the team, as she has all the talent she needs.”

Postgame, Saada said that her focus will now shift to her final home game at Syracuse, which is Sunday against Duke. It’s not the way she expected her senior year to pan out, with the COVID-19 pandemic, but she emphasized that she’s happy that she’ll get to play in her last home game at SU.

Casiano said Senior Day and losing Saada will be emotional because “we’re a family here.” Without Saada, there will be a hole in the lineup — and the locker room — next season.

“It’s home, so Sunday is going to be very hard,” Saada said. “But, also, I hope we’re going to do well and finish strong here in my last game in the Women’s Building.”

Published on March 26, 2021 at 9:05 pm

Contact Sam: swarre03@syr.edu