Friday, November 16
Milwaukee, Wis.
1:30 p.m.
Syracuse University
0
vs
3
Louisville
Senior Cheryl Cobbina and the Orange suffered a 3-0 loss to No. 21 Louisville on Friday in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal round.
Orange Season Ends at BIG EAST Tournament
11/16/2007 3:27:10 PM | Volleyball
Box Score
MILWAUKEE, WI - Syracuse qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since the 2005 season, but could not overcome top-seeded No. 21 Louisville on Friday at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis. The Orange season came to an end following a 3-0 loss to the Cardinals in the tournament's opening round.
MILWAUKEE, WI - Syracuse qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since the 2005 season, but could not overcome top-seeded No. 21 Louisville on Friday at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis. The Orange season came to an end following a 3-0 loss to the Cardinals in the tournament's opening round.
The Syracuse loss marks the end of two great Orange careers. Seniors Cheryl Cobbina and Joscie Kaup, both selected BIG EAST Second Team on Thursday night, played their final matches while donning the Orange. Cobbina's 1,391 career kills and 3.42 career kills per game rank fifth all-time. Kaup finishes her Syracuse career ranked atop the career digs and career digs per game list with 2,205 and a 4.66, respectively.
Cobbina, junior Brittany Kern and sophomore Kacie MacTavish powered the Syracuse attack with a team-best 10 kills apiece. Redshirt-junior April Quigley directed the Syracuse offense to a .259 attack percentage and club-leading 34 assists. Kern's .529 attack percentage was a squad-best for the Orange.
Defensively, Kaup led the Orange defense with a team-best 13 digs, while MacTavish added nine. Cobbina paced Syracuse at the net with two solo blocks.
The Orange suffered a 30-23 loss in game one despite a team-leading four kills from Cobbina. Kern tallied three kills on just five total attacks, yielding a club-best .400 attack percentage. Quigley directed the Syracuse offense with nine assists and added two digs. MacTavish led the Orange backline with a team-high four digs, while Cobbina collected three.
Syracuse found itself in a two-game hole after playing front-runner for a majority of the second frame. SU led by as much as three, at 12-9, before the Cardinals grabbed a 17-16 advantage and never looked back. The Orange would get as close as 20-19 before the top seed closed out the game, 30-24.
Despite the loss, MacTavish was superb offensively, burying a club-best seven kills on 12 total attacks. Cobbina and Kern totaled four kills apiece on a combined 11 total attacks. Quigley's 18 helpers orchestrated a scorching Orange attack that posted a .455 attack percentage. Kaup and MacTavish paced the SU defense with a combined eight digs.
The Cardinals eliminated the Orange with a 30-20 win in the third and final game. The Syracuse offense was ignited by seven players with at least one kill, led by three from Kern. Head coach Jing Pu, in his 13th season with the Orange, elected to spell Quigley with sophomore Samantha Ainsworth at the setter position. Ainsworth tallied five assists, while adding two kills.
Louisville advances to the BIG EAST Tournament's semifinal round and will meet fourth-seeded Notre Dame, victors against fifth-seeded Cincinnati in the day's first match. Second-seeded No. 20 St. John's will meet seventh-seeded Connecticut at 4:30 p.m. The quarterfinals conclude with third-seeded Villanova battling sixth-seeded USF at 7:00 p.m.
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