Orange Cages Panthers in Vital BIG EAST Victory

Friday, November 14

Women's Building

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Pittsburgh

Junior Kacie MacTavish led the Orange with 16 kills against Pittsburgh

11/14/2008 11:28:02 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Boxscore

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange volleyball team began its senior weekend with a win Friday night, rallying to a 3-1 victory against BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh. Five different players recorded eight or more kills in the victory.

Junior Kacie MacTavish paced a balanced Orange attack with 16 kills while junior Sarah Morton and freshman Noemie Lefebvre each added 10. Sophomores Mindy Stanislovaitis and Hayley Todd tallied eight kills each and senior April Quigley matched a season-high with 50 assists to round out the Syracuse (16-14, 7-6) offense.

Lefebvre led SU on defense recording a team-best eight digs while Quigley was second on the team with seven and defensive specialist Marissa Kanemura added five. The Orange was solid at the net with five different players recording block assists. Morton led the team with five total blocks while Stanislovaitis was second with four.

The Panthers (15-13, 7-6) found their rhythm early, jumping out to an 11-7 lead before senior Brittany Kern served five straight points to give the Orange a 12-11 advantage. The two teams battled back and forth and were knotted 15-15, before Pittsburgh surged with a 10-3 scoring run to secure a 25-18 victory in game one.

The back and forth play continued in game two as the teams were tied on six different occasions throughout the match. Down 20-17 late in the game, the Orange fought back to tie the game 22-22 before a Pittsburgh service error and a pair of kills by Morton helped SU secure a 25-23 victory and tie the match.

Syracuse carried its momentum into game three where Kern served four straight points to give the Orange an early lead which it would not relinquish throughout the remainder of the match. With SU leading, 23-21, Morton came up with a huge solo block to force game point before combining with Stanislovaitis on a block assist to concrete a 25-21 game three win.

The Orange also dominated in game four, tied 7-7, Lefebvre helped serve Syracuse to a 14-7 lead. The Panthers pulled within three, 19-16, later in the match but could not contend with the high-powered Syracuse offense as kills by Morton, Todd, McTavish and Stanislovaitis lifted Syracuse to a 25-20 win and a 3-1 match victory.

The Orange is back in action for its final match of the regular season when it hosts West Virginia on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Women’s Building on Senior Day when seniors Emily Kaier, Marissa Kanemura, Brittany Kern, Jacki Kliment and April Quigley will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.