Syracuse falls at Pittsburgh, 3-1

Syracuse (9-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) lost to Pittsburgh (8-4, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) in four sets Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh. After winning the first set, 25-21, the Orange lost three in a row: 25-14, 25-22, and 25-13.

Anastasiy\a Gorelina (13 kills) and Kendra Lukacs (12 kills) paced Syracuse on the offensive front, with Annie Bozzo (30 assists) providing the service. The Panthers bested the Orange in nearly every statistical category, including hitting percentage (.356 to .248) and kills (67 to 47).

Syracuse found themselves down early in the first set, as the Panthers jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Down 15-10, Syracuse powered back with a 9-1 run, thanks to three kills by Gorelina and four attack errors by Pittsburgh. Six of SU’s final nine points in the set came from Panther errors (five attack, one service), and the Orange won the set, 25-21.

Syracuse began the second set just as it did the first, down 5-1. The Orange failed to score more than two points in a row, while Pittsburgh did so five times throughout the set. Nika Markovic paced the Panther offense with five kills and the visitors extended their lead to as many as 11 points. Pitt won the set, 25-14.

In the third set, Pittsburgh clawed back, and the two teams traded points until a quick 3-0 run gave the Panthers a 19-15 advantage. With Pittsburgh a point away from finishing off the set, a yellow card was issued to Pitt head coach Dan Fisher. This issuing halted play for several minutes, and was followed by an emphatic spike by Pittsburgh’s Layne Van Buskirk, ending the set.

Four straight points by the Panthers early in the fourth set gave Pitt a lead that Syracuse could not overcome. The Orange was inconsistent on the offensive end. SU did not score more than two points in a row and recorded just 10 kills in the set, compared to Pitt’s 18. Up 19-12, Pittsburgh ended the match on a 6-1 run, including three kills by Mariah Bell.