Syracuse recovers from slow start to win final 2 sets against Virginia Tech
A slow clap began on the Syracuse bench and spread to the crowd as the Orange set up for match point against Virginia Tech at the Women’s Building.
The ball was served while the clap slowly got faster, reaching its fever right when Syracuse outside hitter Monika Salkute received a set from Gosia Wlaszczuk and secured the win with a kill.
“I wanted to do everything I could do, within my power, to not lose today and so did my teammates,” said Syracuse hitter Nico Serratore. “We were all still mad about losing (to Pitt) on Friday and we weren’t about to let it happen again.”
The Orange climbed all the way back from a two-set-to-one deficit and was a point away from clinching the decisive fifth set. The SU bench emptied out onto the court in celebration as the Orange closed out the final set 15-7, and the match 3-2. The win put Syracuse (13-4, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Orange won the first set of the match 25-20 due in part to a cohesive front court anchored by Wlaszczuk. She set up Santita Ebangwese for a kill that put the Orange up 23-18 and prompted a scream and fist pump from the outside hitter. The decisive blow in the first set came from Silvi Uttara, another outside hitter who snuck the ball past two Hokies blockers by lofting the ball over their heads rather than slamming it right at them.
Virginia Tech took control in the second and third sets on mistakes from the Syracuse defense. An attack error from Serratore put the Hokies up 21-16, causing Syracuse coach Leonid Yelin to call a timeout and remind his players of the importance of fundamental blocking.
“If the blockers are making mistakes on timing and fundamentals, its very hard to overcome in the back row,” said Yelin. “The back rows don’t have too much space to defend against kills.”
The Orange lost the second set 25-18 shortly after the timeout.
The cohesiveness that staked the Orange to a five-point victory in the first set was a distant thought in the third set. Virginia Tech hitter Lindsay Owens fired a kill down the line with no Syracuse defenders close to the play, putting the Hokies up for good.
The fourth set was the beginning of the turnaround for the Orange. The score was tied at nine when an eight-shot rally ended with a set from Wlaszczuk and a kill from Serratore. The Orange went on a tear from that point, dropping only 10 of the next 25 points en route to a 25-18 win.
“The turnaround was in the fourth (set) when Nico (Serratore) began serving well and we knocked them out of their system,” said Yelin. “When she started serving well, our blockers started doing their jobs and we made a run.”
Another key for SU’s turnaround was a change in the blocking strategy as Yelin shifted gears from a “swing block” strategy to an “in-and-out” setup.
“They were killing to the pin rather than to the inside, so we decided to go one-on-one in the middle and focus on the outside blocks.”
The move paid dividends for the Orange, as they out-blocked the Hokies 14-6 in the contest.
The win against VT is the Orange’s third five-set victory of the season, and Wlaszczuk was proud of how her teammates rebounded after consecutive set losses.
“We all knew how hard we had worked to get to the fifth set and I’m glad that everyone gave all their best during all three of those matches,” Wlaszczuk said. “Everybody was performing at their highest level.”