Syracuse closes out nonconference slate with straight set victory over Morgan State
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Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam called a timeout with the Orange just three points away from their first home win of the season.
“We kind of want to bring it down to the basics,” Ganesharatnam said, wanting to stop a mini-run by Morgan State to calm his team down. “We just needed to clean up the execution itself.”
A refocused Syracuse team stepped back on the court to clinch victory in sweeping fashion.
After coming up short in its home opener against Iowa on Friday, Syracuse bounced back the following day to beat Morgan State in straight sets. The Orange set new season highs in kills per set (13), hitting percentage (.196), and aces per set (2.6) on Saturday afternoon against the Bears. Syracuse’s offense was led by freshman setter Mira Ledermueller, who tallied a career-high 33 assists. Ledermueller also recorded two aces and opened up many others with favorable placements.
“I think everyone always has confidence in Mira,” Syracuse’s Ariana Joubert said. “She’s going to give us a good ball regardless of where the ball is on the court.”
Ganesharatnam’s third set timeout came with Syracuse safely ahead by six. Middle blocker Lauren McCabe played a major part in building that cushion, registering six kills. “I told my setter today that I’m going to hit to get kills,” McCabe told reporters, “I was seeing the court and trying to put it where they’re not.”
McCabe’s stellar play in the third set followed a dazzling display from Joubert. In the second set alone, Joubert collected eight of her career-high, and team-best, 16 kills. Knotted at 16 apiece, Joubert smashed a well-placed set toward the unprepared hands of Morgan State libero Alyssa Sampson. Joubert’s effort parried off of Sampson and out of bounds. On the very next play, Joubert placed a hit to the opposite corner, narrowly avoiding the reach of a diving Bears defender.
Joubert’s consecutive kills capped off a dominant Syracuse run where it won six of the last seven points to build up a 18-16 advantage. She then put up another score, following a bad set from Gabriela Hiciano, to make things 20-16.
“I’ve been working on being more consistent offensively,” Joubert said. “Hopefully I stay up in those numbers.”
Near the end of the second set, two straight Morgan State points narrowed Syracuse’s lead to 23-21. But, after a Ganesharatnam timeout, Zharia Harris-Waddy responded by producing a kill. During the next possession, Morgan State’s Tyrah Weems spiked a ball to the back corner which was called fair. However, Ganesharatnam successfully challenged the call to give Syracuse a 2-0 set advantage.
The second set was the most competitive of the match. It featured seven ties and three lead changes. So far this season, Syracuse had struggled with holding off late opposition runs to close out games but the Orange did so versus Morgan State.
“[Against Iowa], there were at least three runs [that Iowa went on] that were larger than five points,” Ganesharatnam said. “And we wanted to do a better job today managing those runs.”
Syracuse fell behind 9-7 in the opening set but embarked on a series of short spurts to take control. Back-to-back kills from Greta Schlichter, who switched to an outside hitter despite being a natural libero, helped the Orange take a 14-11 lead. Schlichter finished the weekend with nine kills in two matches, hitting at a .206 clip.
While the Bears did threaten with a late surge, Syracuse finished off the first set 25-21. The set-clinching point came off a Joubert kill and a Ledermueller set.
The Orange’s win Saturday marks the end of its nonconference slate. Syracuse will open Atlantic Coast Conference play on Friday night against No. 2-ranked Louisville.
“Everyone’s really amped up,” Joubert said. “We like to be competitive and play great teams.”
