Volleyball Wins Thriller Against Pittsburgh

Sunday, October 22

Syracuse, N.Y. (Women's Building)

1:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Pittsburgh

Cheryl Cobbina recorded a team-best 27 kills to lead the Orange against Pittsburgh.

10/22/2006 5:25:53 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Orange won a thrilling five-game match against Pittsburgh, defeating the Panthers 3-2 (26-30, 32-30, 31-29, 30-32, 15-12). With the win, Syracuse improves to 10-18 and 4-5 in BIG EAST play.

“We had a vision for the remainder of the season,” said assistant coach Carol Munger. “We know that we have to beat, as of today, everybody that was below us (in the BIG EAST standings) and we needed to take at least one match from somebody who was above us and Pitt was above us. We did exactly what we wanted to do. I am really proud of the girls. They played well all the way around. Everybody was a positive person on the court or even if they were on the bench waiting to get in. Everyone was into the game.”

Junior Cheryl Cobbina led the Orange with 27 kills and added nine digs and four block assists. Freshman Kacie MacTavish added 19 kills, 10 digs and three service aces. Freshman Sarah Morton recorded a career-best 15 kills and eight total blocks (one solo and seven assists). Sophomore Brittany Kern posted 11 kills and seven total blocks while classmate Emily Kaier recorded eight kills and six blocks assists.

Sophomore April Quigley recorded a personal-high 72 assists, two shy of the school record. Noreen Carroll recorded 74 against Pittsburgh in 2000. Junior Joscie Kaup had an impressive day on the defensive end, posting a match-high 33 digs. Her 33 digs matched a career-high and set a school record for digs in a five-game match. The previous record was 32, set by Rachel Watson against Rutgers in 1999. Kaup also registered 33 digs last season against Cincinnati. She moved into second place in career digs against West Virginia on Friday and became the second player in school history to record at least 1,500 career digs, raising her total to 1,518. She trails only Watson, who totaled 1,791 digs from 1996 to 1999.

The Orange also set numerous team records in the match. Syracuse scored 134 total points throughout the five games, topping the old mark of 131 points set against Albany in 2003. Syracuse recorded 87 kills against the Panthers. That mark broke a 16-year record set by the Orange in 1990 against Maryland (86 kills). Also, the team’s 81 assists are one more than the 80 recorded against Pittsburgh in 2000.

“Our blocking picked it up today,” Munger said. “Joscie had some really critical digs in all of the games. We just never really let down our play and we got the win.”

Both teams started out strong on the offensive side. Pittsburgh (17-7, 6-3 BIG EAST) recorded a hitting percentage of .450 in the first game while Syracuse was right behind at .421. The Panthers led for most of the first game and expanded their lead to as many as five points. Syracuse was able to close the gap to one at 22-21 but the Panthers finished out the game to take a 1-0 advantage.

Syracuse started the second game very strong, gaining an early six-point lead at 14-8. The Orange led 24-19 late in the game but the Panthers scored five of the next six points to close the gap to one. Syracuse responded and took a 29-25 lead. The Orange had five chances to win before Kern slammed a kill at 31-30 and SU evened the match at one.

Syracuse led for most of the third game and gained as much as a seven-point advantage. The Orange led 25-18 but the Panthers went on a 9-3 run to pull within one. Morton recorded a kill to give SU two game points but Pittsburgh clawed back and tied the game at 29. After a kill by Kern, Syracuse had a third opportunity to win the game and did so after a Pittsburgh attack error.

The Orange led throughout the fourth game, scoring four of the game’s first five points. Syracuse led 24-18 but the Panthers would not go quietly. They scored the next eight points to take a two-point lead. Syracuse would reclaim the advantage and would lead 29-27, giving the Orange two match points. Two Pittsburgh kills tied the game but Quigley recorded a dump-kill to give the Orange one more chance for victory. Pittsburgh recorded a kill and then served out the game with an ace and another kill to send the match to a deciding-fifth game.

Syracuse would take an early lead at 4-2 but the Panthers scored the next five points to claim a 7-4 advantage. Trailing 8-7, Syracuse took control of the game. Quigley recorded a kill, Kaup recorded a service ace and MacTavish posted a kill to give the Orange a 10-8 advantage. After a Pittsburgh kill, Kern and MacTavish each posted kills and the Orange forced a Pittsburgh attack error as SU led 13-9 in the race to 15. After a Panthers kill, Kern posted her 11th kill of the afternoon to give the Orange four match points. Pittsburgh saved two of the points but Cobbina recorded her team-high 27th kill of the afternoon to give Syracuse the victory.

“With each game, we really do get better,” Munger said. “We are learning what it takes to win. They just never gave up. They are doing really well.”

Syracuse’s victory extended its winning-streak to three matches and the Orange has won seven of its last nine matches. With the victory, Syracuse remains right in the middle of the hunt for a postseason bid at the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament. The Orange remains one game behind Villanova for the final spot. Syracuse and Villanova square-off against each other next Saturday.

The meeting was the fifth between the two schools in the past three seasons. Pittsburgh won both of the regular season meetings in 2004 and 2005 and the Panthers defeated the Orange at the 2004 BIG EAST Tournament. Syracuse got revenge at the 2005 BIG EAST Tournament with a 3-2 victory to eliminate the Panthers.

Syracuse will look to extend its winning streak on Tuesday when the Orange travels to Ithaca to square-off against Cornell. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. Syracuse will then compete in two crucial BIG EAST matches. Syracuse will play Villanova on Saturday and Rutgers on Sunday. Both contests are on the road.