Syracuse volleyball loses to Arkansas, 3-0, in final game of Kansas State tournament

Syracuse (3-4) finished its slate of games this weekend with a straight-set loss to Arkansas (5-1) Saturday afternoon in the Kansas State tournament. After a first set in which SU lost 22-25, the Orange dropped the next two sets, 13-25, 16-25.

Ella Saada led Syracuse with seven kills and a team-high 9.5 points. The freshman also finished second on the team with five digs and three blocks. Annie Bozzo and Dana Valelly ran the SU offense, as each earned nine assists in the loss. While Arkansas tallied at least 14 kills in each set, the Orange failed to reach the double-digit mark even once, including a lopsided second set in which the Razorbacks out-killed Syracuse, 15-3.

The first set was the best of the day for the Orange, which tied the game at 11 after the Razorbacks took an 8-4 lead. However, Arkansas quickly rattled off four points in succession to take a 15-11 advantage, prompting a Syracuse timeout. The break in action didn’t slow down the Razorbacks, who pushed their lead to 24-19 to earned themselves five set points. Later, the Razorbacks dominated the Orange in kills (16-9) to take the set.

Arkansas took advantage in the next set, jumping out to a 12-2 lead. Syracuse’s .000 hit percentage in the set and the early hole it had dug itself was too much and it lost the second set.

The Orange took a 2-0 lead to begin the third set but two points later, the lead, Syracuse’s last of the match, was gone. Despite eight assists by Valelly in the set, the Orange could not obtain control. Syracuse lost the set and the match, dropping its record to 3-4 on the year.

Next up for the Orange is the Dartmouth Tournament Sept. 8, when it will play the host team at 6:00 p.m. to begin the three-game weekend.