Syracuse relies on tip shots to outsmart opposing defenses

Anastasiya Gorelina sprung from the ground, cocking back her right arm seemingly to thump the ball for her fourth kill early on in the first set on Oct. 13 against Pittsburgh.

Two Pittsburgh players rose to block Gorelina’s attack, but the junior hitter beat the block. A split second before hitting the ball, Gorelina slowed her arm and softly tipped the ball over the outstretched arms of Pittsburgh’s blockers. The ball dropped onto the hardwood, giving Syracuse the point.

This season, the Orange (15-8, 7-3 Atlantic Coast) has used the tip shot to throw off opposing defenses, offering a change to its usual high-powered hitting. In order to play a successful tip shot, players rely on vision and feeling of the game, head coach Leonid Yelin said. A well-played tip shot often yields a point and catches the opponent off guard. It has become a popular move among SU’s hitters.

“Lately, I’ve been telling them to go ahead,” Yelin said.

Gorelina converted two tip shots in as many attempts against the Panthers and Christina Oyawale did the same against Clemson on Oct. 6. Ella Saada and Santita Ebangwese each went one-for-one against Georgia Tech two days later. The Orange doesn’t rely on the tip shot, but when it does go that route, the efficiency has been there.

When going up for a tip shot, split-second decision making and accuracy is required, Gorelina said. If a hitter notices a big enough gap for the ball to land in, they will tip it. This realization comes when the hitter is already in the air, giving them a split-second to decide what to do. If the ball is not tipped high enough, opposing blockers will deflect it with ease. And if it is hit too long, the back row will be able to control it.

“Sometimes (you have to decide) in the air,” Gorelina said. “It’s just one second, and you need to find a spot.”

In order to hit an effective tip shot, hitters have to convince the defenders they’re going to crush the ball, Yelin said. The hitter has to imitate all of their typical movements — a big run-up, winding up and even swinging the arm forward — before hesitating at the last second and providing a deft touch to the ball. If a tip shot is apparent, defenses will have time to set up and control the ball once it’s over the net.

“It’s has to be so believable,” Yelin said. “In the last second you have to believe you’re going to hit the ball. Then you tip it.”

Defending the tip shot is a difficult thing to master, Kendra Lukacs said. There are some signs that a tip shot is coming, like a hitter dropping their hitting-arm elbow in mid-air. But a good sell makes for a hard defensive play. Because at least five Syracuse players have a tip shot in their repertoire, SU knows it can come at any time from the opponent.

“I think how well you’ve mastered it translates to the defensive side,” Lukacs said.

Despite only winning one or two points each game from tip shots, it is one of Syracuse’s most effective moves. One tip shot early on can make the opposing defense hesitant to commit for the rest of the match, opening up the offense for SU’s hitters.

“If I get a clever shot,” Lukacs said, “and I know I’m outsmarting the other team, that gets me really pumped.”