Colgate volleyball blanks Syracuse, 3-0

UPDATED: Aug. 27, 2017 at 12:02 a.m.

The Colgate fan base stood on its feet. It was the loudest the gym had been all game. They had just watched the Red Raiders last five set points, keeping the once-lost second set alive. If Colgate won the next point, it would control a two-set advantage.

Moments later, junior Jaelah Hutchinson spiked the ball between three diving Syracuse players, capturing the decisive set, 28-26. SU head coach Leonid Yelin stared into blank space for a moment, stood up and silently led his sullen team into the meeting room as those in burgundy and grey continued to roar with excitement.

Syracuse (2-2) did not stop Colgate (4-0) when it mattered on Saturday night. A total of six lost set points left the Orange without anything to show for in a 3-0 loss in its final game of this weekend’s Syracuse tournament at the Women’s Building.

Earlier on Saturday, the Orange bounced back from offensive errors in Friday night’s loss to Grand Canyon with a shutout performance against Niagara. SU did not carry the momentum into the second game of the doubleheader. 

“You can try to get as close as possible (to recreating a set point environment) in practice, but they all know it can’t be replicated” Yelin said. “To get experience you have to play in these situations.”

Frustration loomed in the SU meeting room. Talking was at a minimum. The players and coach tried to grasp how a game that could have been 2-0 in their favor ended in a 0-3 loss.

The second set was not the only one the Orange failed to execute on a set point. SU led in the first set, 24-23, when an attack error by Santita Ebangwese followed by two Red Raider kills handed the first set to the away team.

“We try to play every point like it’s zero to zero” senior Belle Sand said. “During a set point, you can’t get tight. You have to stay loose.”

“You were seeing balls hit our platforms that weren’t hitting during the rest of the game,” Sand added.

The story has been updated for appropriate style.