Volleyball Hosts Three Matches This Weekend
10/27/2005 9:17:16 AM | Volleyball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange, riding a three-match win streak, will host a trio of matches this weekend. On Friday night, SU hosts Rutgers in a BIG EAST contest at 7:00 p.m. in the Women's Building. On Saturday, Fordham comes to town for a 2:00 p.m. tilt in Manley Field House. On Sunday, fourth-place Villanova looks to battle the third-place Orange in the Women's Building at 2:00 p.m. in a crucial conference clash. In the last two seasons, SU is 18-2 in the month of October.
SU Returns Home For Three-Match Stand
The Orange, currently riding a seven-match win streak, comes home for the first time since Oct. 11. SU hosts Rutgers on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Women’s Building, and then faces Fordham on Saturday in Manley Field House at 2:00 p.m. Finally, SU returns to the Women’s Building to host Villanova.
The Series With Rutgers
The Orange holds a 9-7 advantage all-time against the Scarlet Knights. SU won last season’s match up in Piscataway, N.J., 3-1. Senior Kelly Duan led SU with 18 kills while senior AIla Dommestrup compiled 50 assists.
Scouting The Scarlet Knights
The Scarlet Knights enter Friday night’s match with a 9-12, 4-4 BIG EAST mark, which is tied for seventh in the conference. Lora Yankauskas paces the Rutgers attack with a 4.13 kill per game average. Ashleigh Young registers the most blocks with 88 total. Roxy Calder has totaled 624 assists, but just a 8.91 average.
The Series With Fordham
The Rams and Orange have met just four times since 1979, with SU taking all four matches. The last meeting came in 2000, when the Orange won 3-0 in the Syracuse Classic.
Scouting The Rams
Fordham enters the weekend with an 18-10 record. It features wins against Colgate (3-1), Central Connecticut (3-0), and a loss at St. John’s (0-3). Marija Markovic sparks the offense with 3.34 kills per game, and Kealia Ieremia dishes out 11.23 assists per game. The Rams sport two players with a 3.00 dig average and one with 2.98, and dig 15.28 balls per game as a team.
The Series With Villanova
Since the series began in 1980, Syracuse owns a 17-12-2 record against the Wildcats, including two-straight wins. In last year’s sweep, seniors Kelly Duan and Kristen Conway both posted double-doubles to lead the Orange.
Scouting The Wildcats
Villanova enters the weekend in fourth place, right behind SU in the BIG EAST standings. Their conference mark is 6-2, just one win shy of the Orange. Alona Cherkez leads the Wildcat attack with 4.11 kills per game. Villanova opponents are averaging just 13.27 kills per game while they average 15.96. Jenna Link contributes 11.89 assists. Villanova is getting outblocked 2.30 to 2.04 per game.
Senior Leadership
SU returned five players from last year’s squad that won 25 matches, the most wins for an SU volleyball team since 1996. Aila Dommestrup (Ottawa, Ontario) paces the offense with her 11.53 assists per game. Kelly Duan (Baotou City, China) has compiled 323 kills, a 4.25 per game average. Kristen Conway (Bethlehem, Pa.) is second on the team in kills with 236. Katie Allen (Fenton, Mich.) has been strong on defense, as she leads the team in blocks with 83 while Kathryn Dercher (Weatherby Lake, Mo.) has played primarily as a defensive specialist. She has dug 157 balls, a 2.18 average.
Last Time Out
QUEENS, N.Y., Oct. 23, 2005 – Senior Kelly Duan totaled 23 kills and senior Aila Dommestrup dished out 59 assists as the Orange outlasted St. John’s, 3-2 (24-30, 30-25, 27-30, 30-23, 15-7), this afternoon in a crucial BIG EAST contest at Carnescca Arena. The victory is the seventh straight for SU.
The win improves SU to 19-7 and 7-2 in the conference, while the Red Storm falls to 18-7, 4-4 in the BIG EAST.
Senior Kristen Conway compiled 17 kills, while sophomore Cheryl Cobbina chipped in with 13 of her own. Sophomore Joscie Kaup tallied 15 digs. Dommestrup also had 10 digs and seven total blocks.
St. John’s took an early 5-1 lead in the first game, thanks to a pair of SU miscues. The Orange then went on a 5-1 run to tie the score 6-6. Cobbina added three kills during that run. The Orange took its first lead of the game at 14-13 when Conway notched a service ace. After SU went up 15-14, the Red Storm took control of the game with a decisive 4-0 run. SU would close within one point at 19-18, but SJU used another run, this time a five-point run, to slip away for the game one win.
In game two, the teams battled to a 19-19 tie. A Red Storm attack error pushed SU ahead 20-19. At 21-20, the Orange capitalized on Dommestrup’s serve and rattled off four more points to take a 25-20 lead. St. John’s would get as close as 25-22, but Duan helped seal the 30-25 win with a pair of kills.
St. John’s took an early 8-3 lead on the Orange in game three, but SU responded with a five-point run to tie the score 8-8. Dommestrup had two kills in that span. The two teams remained tight and were tied at 21-21. Shameka Mitchell put down a kill, and Patti Hardiman followed up with an ace to give the Red Storm a two-point cushion, which it would keep to win 30-27.
SU took control of the fourth game from the start, taking the first four points. The Orange increased its lead to 17-9 after a Cobbina kill, and then to 21-10 after another Cobbina kill. That lead would be all SU needed, as it cruised to a 30-23 victory to force a fifth and final game.
Dommestrup and Conway delivered the first two points of the fifth game, and SU was up 4-3 before Kaup stepped to the service line. Duan posted a kill, which was followed by another one from sophomore Jen Malcom. A pair of attack errors by the Red Storm put SU up 8-3, and a service ace and another kill from Duan gave SU a commanding 10-3 lead in the final game. St. John’s would not recover from the deficit, and SU went on to win its second five-game match of the season.
For the Red Storm, Latoya Blunt had a match-best 24 kills while Mitchell notched 20. Casie Brooks registered 46 assists while Lisa Tedder chipped in with 21. Kathleen Yee led the way in the back row, compiling 15 digs.
SU hit .301 in the match and totaled 13.0 blocks to the Red Storm’s 5.0.
Duan Climbing Up Charts
Kelly Duan has been chasing several records at SU. Currently, she is in the top-10 in career kills and career attacks, and her 4.28 kills per game this season is first in a single season in history. Duan has also made a splash in the service aces department. She began the season eighth overall with 118 aces, and has moved up to third with 45 service aces this season. Duan was named to the Kent State Invitational All-Tournament Team earlier in the season. In 2004, Duan was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team and was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, the first in program history.
Conway Swinging At History
Kristen Conway moved into second place over the weekend in career attacks with 3,868. In 2004, she set a new high in a single season for attacks per game with 10.08. Her 1,115 attacks in 2003 was the third-highest total in a single season. Conway is currently fourth in career kills. She was an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection in 2004.
Dommestrup Assisting Own Cause
Aila Dommestrup, another senior, is moving her way up the assists chart in 2005. This season, she became just the fourth player in SU history to eclipse the 3,000 assists mark. She currently stands in fourth place all-time. Also, her 9.40 assists per game average in her career is second only to Norreen Carroll (1998-01). Dommestrup was a All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention last season.
Kaup Digging Her Way To The Top
Sophomore Joscie Kaup (Ft. Recovery, Ohio), in just two seasons, has already staked a claim as one of the best defensive specialists SU has ever seen. In her freshman year, she posted 457 digs, fourth-best in a single season. This year, she is digging an average of 3.89 balls per game, which puts her in first place all-time for digs per game in a career.
October Orange
Over the past two seasons, October has been the month where SU has broken out. Last season, the Orange began a 12-match winning streak on Oct. 8. This season, the Orange’s current seven-match streak began on Oct. 9 at West Virginia. In the last two seasons, SU is 18-2 in the month of October.
Duan Earns Conference Honor For Third Time
Last week, Senior Kelly Duan garnered her third BIG EAST Honor Roll accolade of the season. In a sweep of Central Connecticut on Friday night, Duan led the team with 11 kills. On Saturday, she and senior Kristen Conway led the offense with 20 kills a piece in a 3-1 win at UConn. Finally, in a 3-2 win against St. John’s on Sunday, Duan paved the way again with her team-high 23 kills.
On Oct. 3, Duan earned her second-consecutive BIG EAST honor, as she was named to the Honor Roll again. In the five-game loss to Siena, Duan registered 17 kills and 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. She was also the only player in that game for SU in double-digit kills. Against No. 10 Notre Dame, Duan again had 14 kills. Finally, in the 3-1 win against DePaul, she put together 19 kills and six block assists. For the week, Duan averaged 4.17 kills and 1.25 blocks per game.
Duan was also named to the conference’s honor roll for the week of Sept. 26 for her performances last week against Colgate, Georgetown, and South Florida. Against, Georgetown, Duan had match-highs in kills (16) and digs (19). For the week, she averaged 4.12 kills and 4.25 digs per game. She also had five service aces and two block assists.
SU In Its Last Seven Matches
During the season-long seven-match win streak, SU has dominated the stat sheet. As a team, the Orange is putting down 16.37 attacks per game while hitting .260. Opponents are hitting a mere .170 in the last seven contests. In ther service ace department, SU is beating its opponents 48-28. At the net, SU continues its strong play, outblocking opponents 89.0-46.0, while averaging 3.30 blocks per game.
Road Trip
This season, SU has played 19 of of its 26 matches away from Syracuse. In road matches, the Orange is 10-2, while being 4-3 in neutral contests. In its 12 matches on the road, SU has been dominant. The Orange is beating its opponent in all phases of the game, including kills (16.14-13.93), hitting percentage (.257-.171), assists (14.14-12.86), service aces (1.84-1.20), and blocking (3.00-1.72).
Duan Honored As Scholar-Athlete Of The Week
Senior Kelly Duan earned SU Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors this week. Duan, who hails from Baotou City, China, has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll four times and has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star twice.
Dommestrup Tallies 60+ Assists Two Times In A Row
For two matches in a row, senior Aila Dommestrup dished out 60 or more assists. In the five-game win against Cornell, she registered 62 assists. In the next match against Marquette, a four-game win, Dommestrup totaled 64 assists, which tied the school record for a four-game match. It was the first time Dommestrup recorded back-to-back 60+ assist matches. She entered the season with just two 60+ assists matches, both in her sophomore season.
Four Starters Almost Top Career Highs - Duan Does
In SU’s five-game win against Cornell, four Orange players almost tabbed new career bests. Senior Aila Dommestrup dished out 62 assists, five short of her career high. Senior Kathryn Dercher notched 16 digs, two off of her career high. Sophomore Joscie Kaup dug 28 balls, one short of her best in Orange. Sophomore Jen Malcom tallied 11 block assists to match her career high from a season ago. Senior Kelly Duan added a new career best with her nine block assists.
Cobbina Matches Career Best At West Virginia
Sophomore Cheryl Cobbina (Scarborough, Ontario) tied her career best with 15 kills while leading the Orange to a 3-0 sweep of the Mountaineers. She also notched 15 kills against Boston College in 2004.
Allen Is BIG In Conference
Senior Katie Allen set two more career-highs in the 3-1 win against DePaul. She had 11 block assists and a .647 hitting percentage, which topped her old career-best (.583) which she set earlier in the year. She also set a new career-high in kills with 15 against Georgetown.
Currently, Allen ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage (.410), and blocks (1.59) in conference matches.
Kern Sets Career Highs Against Siena
Freshman Brittany Kern (Indianapolis, Ind.) set three new career highs in the 3-2 loss against Siena on Sept. 28. Her eight kills tied her career high, while her two solo blocks and five block assists set new highs.
Conway Sets Season-High vs. South Florida
Senior Kristen Conway paced the Orange to a 3-0 sweep of the Bulls on Sept. 25. In the match, Conway compiled 18 kills, her season best, on 33 swings. She only had one error, good enough for a .515 hitting percentage.
Dommestrup Named Scholar-Athlete Of The Week
Senior Aila Dommestrup was honored as the SU Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept. 19. She has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll four times and has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star twice.
Quigley Sets Career-High
Redshirt freshman April Quigley (Warwick, N.Y.) had her first-career start against Delaware State in the HIlton Albuquerque Volleyball Classic. She made the most of it, totaling 31 assists in a 3-0 sweep of the Hornets.
SU Impressive At Manley
The Orange has enjoyed great success when playing in Manley Field House. All-time, SU has an 85-35 (.708) mark in Manley, including a 23-14 (.621) record in BIG EAST matches held at Manley. SU won 13-consecutive matches in Manley from 1994-1996, and had an overall record of 24-2 between 1994-1997.
