Syracuse had hoped things would be different this year against South Florida. Last year, the Bulls ended the Orange’s 18-game winning streak and ushered in a season of disappointment in the Big East for SU.

And the first set went just the way SU hoped its Big East season opener would go. Syracuse dominated, jumping out to a 17-10 lead. But SU only won the set 25-21 after a South Florida rally keyed by freshman Valerie El Houssine’s four consecutive kills.

The Bulls’ little comeback was a sign of things to come.

‘We have a lot of mental errors,’ junior Sam Hinz said. ‘It’s frustrating. … After a six point lead no team should be let back in the game.’

After taking a two-set lead, Syracuse dropped back-to-back sets in which it had match point before USF controlled the final set, 15-12, to defeat the Orange in five sets. Syracuse (9-6, 0-1 Big East) dropped its Big East opener despite carrying momentum through two sets.

Heading into intermission, the Orange had three chances to close out the win. But South Florida (5-9, 1-1 Big East) made the necessary changes to make it a match.

‘They made some adjustments,’ assistant coach Kelly Morrisroe said. ‘They definitely sped up their offense a little bit. … That’s something that our blockers are having a little bit of trouble adjusting to lately.’

In the second set, USF jumped out to a big lead of its own, going up 10-3 before the Orange called a timeout to regroup.

Out of the timeout, freshman Nicolette Serratore managed a dig and a kill in the same point. That sparked a Syracuse rally that culminated with one of freshman Andrea Fisher’s team-high 16 kills to give the Orange a 25-22 victory and a two-set lead.

‘They were just telling us to keep fighting,’ Serratore said. ‘It was still early in the game, so we had a lot of playing left to do.’

With SU now in control headed into intermission, it was South Florida that needed to remember there was a lot of playing left to do.

El Houssine, who almost capped a Bulls rally in the first set, did. She gave SU fits from start to finish, tallying a career-high 30 kills, including 10 in the third set.

‘They were definitely going towards their strongest hitter (El Houssine),’ Serratore said. ‘They were feeding her a lot because she was on fire and she was doing really well. They kind of found that weakness in our defense.’

Despite Houssine’s outstanding play, SU still had a chance to close out the match in the third set. The Orange had three match points in the third set, but was unable to capitalize as the Bulls extended the match with a 29-27 victory.

Unfortunately for the Orange, this became a theme.

In the fourth set, the momentum continued to shift as South Florida led for most of the set. But SU managed to battle back with a run of its own to take a 15-10 lead.

Of course, in this game of runs, the Bulls made one of their own. South Florida scored five of the next six points to battle back and take another 29-27 win after Syracuse blew multiple match points and committed nine errors.

‘It’s just one of those matches where we played hard,’ Morrisroe said. ‘It’s just it comes down to a couple points. It’s one of those games that really could have gone either way.’

The Orange never led in the fifth and final set. SU was able to cut the lead to 13-12 with a late run, but ultimately lost after one of its five errors in the set, and USF scored back-to-back points to shock Syracuse for only the Bulls’ fifth win of the season.

Despite some mental lapses and a disappointing defeat, the Orange kept its confidence after the game that Big East play won’t go the same way it did last season.

‘It’s the beginning of the Big East,’ sophomore Lindsay McCabe said. ‘We have a few freshmen on the court, but hopefully we can straighten things out.

‘Hopefully get some of the kinks out and get ready for Big East again next weekend.’

dbwilson@syr.edu