Syracuse volleyball surges past Virginia, 3-1

Syracuse (7-17, 6-8 Atlantic Coast) beat Virginia (5-20, 2-11), 3-1, on Friday night at Memorial Gymnasium in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Anastasiya Gorelina dominated with a double-double. She had 16 kills and 11 digs. Jalissa Trotter, Mackenzie Weaver, Santita Ebangwese and Kendra Lukacs all put up seven kills apiece. Leah Levert led in blocking with six block assists and a solo block.

SU came out on top in the first two sets, winning 26-24 in the first and 25-23 in the second. The Orange started the second set with a 7-2 lead and maintained it until the Cavaliers had four unanswered points to tie the game at 20. The Orange pulled ahead, scoring two points and ending the second set after being tied at 23.

The Orange fell in the third set, 25-23. Syracuse held the lead at 12-10 but Virginia scored eight of the next 10 points, putting UVA up 18-14. The Orange tied it up at 20 but the Cavaliers quickly took the lead again to end the set and force the game into a fourth frame.

SU took over in the final set, outscoring UVA 25-16. A six-point run in the middle of the set after Virginia made it 9-8 pushed the Orange ahead of the Cavilers. SU stayed at least five points ahead for the rest of the set.

“I was really happy with the win,” head coach Leonid Yelin said on Cuse.com. “In this conference, you can play the teams at the top and you can play the teams at the bottom, and no matter what they’re going to fight.