Syracuse drops 1st game of the season to Charlotte
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Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk registered her 21st kill of the game to put Syracuse in the lead during the fifth and deciding set against Wofford. She then circled around to the back of the court to deliver the set’s final serve, propelling the Orange to a win.
Syracuse started the game comfortably, taking the first two sets before dropping the next two. However, the Orange’s powerful offense proved too much for their opponent as they defeated Wofford 3-2 and improved to 2-0 at the Charlotte Invitational.
Lokhamnchuk started aggressively in the first set, totaling five kills for the Orange, while Polina Shemanova added three. Both outside hitters were supplied consistently by sophomore Riley Hoffman, who contributed seven assists. Syracuse jumped out to an early start, leading 11-5 at one point, and never looked back.
Senior setter Lauren Woodford provided the Orange offense with their first three points of the set, collecting a team-high 28 assists. Syracuse won the set, 25-17. Bella Zeman led the Terriers with six kills over two sets, while Sarah Barham notched five.
However, Wofford successfully escaped a 3-0 sweep in the third set, starting off on a dominant 8-1 run. It was a set of runs for both teams as Syracuse recovered from its slow start shortly after, winning four consecutive points to draw within 3. But, with the score at 18-12, Wofford would go on to win seven of the last eight points to give themselves a 25-13 win.
The Terriers carried their momentum from the third set into the fourth, beating the Orange 25-17 to knot things up at 2-2. Emily Hodsdon, the junior setter, led the way for Wofford in assists, chalking up 27 over the course of two sets. Syracuse suffered a slow start, creating a daunting uphill battle that was only made worse by a late collapse.
But in the fifth set, Syracuse’s offensive prowess took over. After dropping the first point of the set, kills from Lokhmanchuk, Shemanova, and Naomi Franco gave the Orange control early on. The set ended in a 15-10 Syracuse victory.
Lokhmanchuk’s 21 total kills helped her finish as the game’s top scorer. Shemanova added 19 and Franco had 11. Following an impressive 26 assists the day before against Charlotte, Woodford continued her stellar tournament play with 28.
Wofford was led by Zeman and Barham, who had 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Hodsdon ended the match with a game-high 43 assists. The Georgia native was at the center of Wofford’s offense as no other Terrier totaled more than 4 assists.
Syracuse will round out its games at the Charlotte Invitational against the host 49ers — the second part of a doubleheader that started with the Orange’s win over the Terriers. Syracuse goes into its matchup having only faced Charlotte once before — a loss in 2001.
Woodford patiently watched the serve come over the net from Charlotte’s Annika Wetterstrom. After a brief rally between the two sides, Woodford set the ball high to the left edge of the court, where Lokhmanchuk waited. With the first set tied at 24-24, Lokhmanchuk rose up and sent a smash flying toward the 49ers, which deflected out to put the Orange up by one.
But that was the last time Syracuse celebrated a lead in the opening set. Charlotte roared back, winning three straight unanswered points. The 49ers took a 1-0 lead in the final match of the Charlotte Invitational.
The 49ers carried their stellar play from the first set into the second, defeating Syracuse 25-18. The Orange kept things close to start and even led midway through the set. However, a strong run from Charlotte helped it jump to a 17-14 lead, and it never looked back. Syracuse fell apart in the final stages, losing eight of the final 11 points.
Lokhmanchuk, who led the Orange in kills during their previous outing against Wofford, struggled throughout the first two sets, tallying just six. Despite her outside-hitting partner Shemanova notching nine kills, Syracuse’s offense was ultimately stifled through a mixture of attacking errors and solid Charlotte defense that won four points off of blocks in the second set.
To start the third set, Syracuse came out of the gates sluggish as Charlotte jumped out to a 7-2 lead. Despite the early deficit, Syracuse charged back, winning four straight points and eventually lead13-11. However, from there, the 49ers mainly stayed in control, hanging on to their lead to win the set 25-21 and end the match.
Syracuse’s offense continued to come from Shemanova, who finished with a team-high 13 kills. She was followed by junior Naomi Franco, who added seven. Lokmanchuk, who recorded 16 and 21 kills in the last two games, finished the match with six. Setters Woodford and Riley Hoffmann continued to provide the creative spark for the Orange, but even their combined 32 assists weren’t enough to win a single set.
Charlotte was led by Emani’ Foster, who tallied 20 kills off of 54 total attempts. She finished as the game’s leading scorer with 21.5 points. Foster’s monster game against the Orange was the cherry on top for the North Carolina native as she enjoyed an outstanding tournament showing, producing 21 points in her last game against Campbell. Charlotte’s Alex Washington added 12 kills, while Foster added 20 and Amani McArthur added seven.
The loss marks Syracuse’s first of the season and its first under new coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. Charlotte now stands 2-0 against the Orange all-time and has maintained a perfect record this season.
With the Charlotte Invitational now over, Syracuse will have four days of rest before it travels to Orlando for the UCF Challenge. The Orange’s next game is scheduled for Sept. 1 against Kansas State.