SU Women's Volleyball Defeats Boston College in ACC Home Opener

By Lindsey Horsting
 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse Volleyball dug its way out of an early hole to beat Boston College 3-1 in its first ACC game Friday night at the SU Women's Building.  It was a gritty game with more dives and flips against an athletically talented, well-coached Eagles team head coach Leonid Yelin said.  It was a good win and emphasized that it was a strong team effort, he said.

“The leaders, our freshmen, our sophomores, they are a big part of it, not just helpers, but a full-time participants,” Yelin said.  “They can say they were a part of this win.”

BC gets out in front before Orange rally

The Eagles (8-5) won the first set 26-24.

In the second set the Orange (10-2) took its second timeout early, down 15-8.  After the timeout Syracuse climbed back to 15-11, tied it at 16-16 and then won the set 25-21.  This set the pace for the rest of the match. 

Syracuse won the third set 25-10 and even though it seemed as though the points were coming more easily on the scoreboard for Syracuse, Yelin saw it differently.

“Both teams were fighting for every point.”

Orange leaders

The Orange finished the fourth set 25-18.  Red shirt senior outside hitter Nicolette Serratore had 12 kills, 13 digs and three aces in the win, senior outside hitter Monika Salkute had 11 kills and sophomore middle blocker Leah Levert had nine.

Kills help the offensive team gain momentum and visibly deflate the defensive team, Serratore said.

“It’s always nice to see the ball hit the ground really hard, it gets everyone pumped,” she said.

Serratore is a consistent reliable force for the Orange and said she leaves it all out on the court and tries to lead by example.

“I like to think I have a positive impact and I’m someone people can turn to on the court, and they can look at me and feel reassured if we are behind.”

Syracuse finished the evening with 18 blocks and 32 block assists compared to Boston College’s seven and six.  Blocks are the first line of team defense, Yelin said.

“We had 18 blocks, we know we could do better,” he said.

On the road next

 The Orange travels to South Carolina to play Clemson Sunday at 1 p.m. on a first of three game road series.  The next home game is Friday October 9 at 7 p.m. against Pittsburgh.