Syracuse wins 3-straight sets, beats Connecticut 3-2

Down 2-0 after two close sets, Syracuse (2-0) came all the way back, winning the next three to defeat UConn (5-2) in the final game of the UConn Invitational in Storrs, Connecticut. Freshman Polina Shemanova led the way for the Orange with a team-high 18 kills after racking up 17 yesterday against New Hampshire.

In the first set, Syracuse found themselves down 10-18 before fighting their way into a 22-20 lead. However, UConn would tie it up at 24 and eventually took the set, 26-24. Syracuse came out strong for the second set and were only down 16-14 before UConn once again pulled away to win the second set, 25-19.

But the Orange did not want to go down without a fight. In the third set, down 16-17, Syracuse went on a nine to two run and won the set, 25-19. The fourth set was back and forth, but once SU took a 20-19 lead, it never gave it back up. A powerful kill by Shemanova ended the fourth set with Syracuse ahead, 25-23.

The fifth and final set was almost all Orange. Syracuse took a 5-4 lead and didn’t stop, going on to win the game with a 15-7 fifth set victory.

Three other SU players finished with double-digit kills. Sophomore Ella Saada had 12, redshirt senior Amber Witherspoon finished with 11 and senior Santita Ebangwese came away with 10.

Syracuse will next head to Milwaukee for the Marquette Tournament on Friday where it will face off against BYU at 6 p.m.