Dana Valelly, Jalissa Trotter contribute in setter tandem against Boston College

After senior Santita Ebangwese fired a spike to record the first SU point of the game, the Syracuse bench thrust its arms in the air, cheered, and mimicked a spike, except senior Jalissa Trotter. She stared at them blankly before silently repeating that motion.

After starting each of the first 19 matches for Syracuse, Trotter was not the starting setter for Syracuse (14-7, 10-3 Atlantic Coast) for the second consecutive game. Junior Dana Valelly started in the four-set win on Sunday, Oct. 28 against Louisville and again opened the match in the four-set win over Boston College (13-12, 3-10). Valelly and Trotter split time and tallied 49 combined assists with only two service errors, both coming from Trotter.

Against Boston College, SU ran the 6-2 rotation, different from its usual 5-1. The Orange rotated in six oustide hitters or middle blockers along with two setters. Every few points, Syracuse head coach Leonid Yelin make a rotation. Yelin switched to the different formation ahead of the win against Louisville last weekend.

“Against that team, we need to be more physical,” Yelin said. “They did a really good job on Sunday. It was no reason to change today. How it’s going to be from here, we will see.”

Early in the first set, Syracuse led by two points, 5-3. After Ebangwese fired a jump serve over the net, Golden Eagle sophomore Amaka Chukwujekwu leaped into the air and crushed the ball towards the middle of the court. Valelly reacted the quickest and slid, but she failed to hit the ball.

As it smacked into the ground and Boston College prepared to serve, Yelin turned around and pointed at the idle Trotter. She ripped off her navy blue jacket and jogged towards the sideline. One point later, Trotter saw her first action of the night.

Trotter and Valelly continually swapped places for the other throughout the night. Valelly was unfazed by constantly running on and off the court. She and Trotter rehearse this two-setter formation at every practice.

“I always … play the game that I’m used to,” Valelly said. “We practice this every day with these girls so it’s nothing different.”

As the match progressed, Trotter and Valelly settled into their unfamiliar roles. Valelly relayed play calls from associate head coach Erin Little after every point and Trotter celebrated with the rest of the bench.

After a close third set loss, Valelly trotted out with the starters. Before they could step foot on the court, Trotter wrapped her arms around them told the six to “keep their energy up,” sophomore Ella Saada said. As everyone else left the circle, Trotter looked directly at Valelly and said, “right now.”

Her speech worked. The Orange took the first four points and crushed the Golden Eagles 25-13 in the deciding fourth set.

“Once we really pushed through and fought for each other, we found that level,” junior Kendra Lukacs said. “I think we felt that more in the fourth.”