Syracuse falls in 4 sets to Georgia Tech
Syracuse (14-8, 6-3 Atlantic Coast) fell to Georgia Tech (9-11, 4-5 Atlantic Coast) in four sets on Friday night at O’Keefe Gymnasium in Atlanta, Georgia. After winning the first set, 26-24, the Orange dropped three straight, 23-25, 22-25, 16-25, en route to its second straight loss.
Anastasiya Gorelina (15 kills) and Santita Ebangwese (11 kills) led the way on offense for Syracuse. Georgia Tech’s Gabriela Stavnetchei ended with 28 kills, four shy of the NCAA Women’s four-set record this season. Belle Sand was SU’s best defender with 26 digs.
Syracuse jumped out to a 5-1 lead to begin the opening set, including a kill and two service aces by Ebangwese. The Orange maintained its lead and developed a 16-10 advantage before the Yellow Jackets hit a stride. The hosts went on a quick 8-2 run, powered by three kills from Stavnetchei, forcing SU head coach Leonid Yelin to call a timeout. With Georgia Tech up, 24-23, Syracuse scored the final three points of the set, winning it. Four different SU players recorded at least two kills in the set.
Kills from Ebangwese, Mariia Levanova, and Amber Witherspoon helped the Orange to a strong start in the second set, taking an 8-3 lead. SU’s balanced attack was halted, up 18-12, when the Yellow Jackets scored four straight points to narrow the deficit to two. After a kill by Gorelina, Georgia Tech went on another 4-0 run to gain a 20-19 advantage before taking the set, 25-23.
To start the third set, both teams traded points until the score was knotted at 10. That’s when GT ripped a 4-0 run. Down 17-22, Yelin had to use another timeout to regroup his team. The Orange responded, scoring five of the game’s next six points, but the deficit proved too much to overcome. Georgia Tech used a kill and an Ebangwese attack error to cap off a 25-22 set win. Stavnetchei tallied 23 kills through the three sets.
The Yellow Jackets got out to a quick 10-7 lead the start the fourth set, using two kills and two Syracuse attack errors to gain a 15-9 advantage. The hosts would score the final four points off the set and end the match.
The Orange continue its road trip Sunday against Clemson at 1 p.m.