Morton Captures SU Blocking Title as Orange Tames Huskies, 3-1
10/11/2009 6:16:57 PM | Volleyball
Box Score
Senior middle blocker Sarah Morton became Syracuse's all-time leader in career total blocks as the Orange defeated Connecticut, 3-1, at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. on Sunday afternoon. The Orange improved to 16-5 on the season and 5-1 in BIG EAST play with the win while the Huskies moved to 11-10, 4-2.
Morton, the national leader in total blocks, posted 11 rejections against the Huskies, passing Jessica Paarlberg (1988-91) to become SU's all-time career leader with 590 total blocks. She now holds the career records for solo blocks (196), blocks per set (1.31) and total blocks (590).
“This win was a full team effort,” assistant coach Carol LaMarche said. “Front row, back row, everyone on the court made an important contribution. Even when we weren't playing our best we remained focused and that was the difference. The focus we had in this match was the best we've had all season.”
The team co-captain also set the tone offensively, posting 17 kills while hitting .382. Junior middle blocker Hayley Todd continued her success hitting from the outside, matching her career-high 13 kills, while senior outside hitter Kacie MacTavish and freshman middle blocker Samantha Hinz each added seven. Freshman setter Laura Homann powered the Orange offensive effort, dealing out 45 assists.
MacTavish led a strong Syracuse defense that committed only two errors for the second-straight match, tallying a team-best 19 digs while sophomore outside hitter Noemie Lefebvre collected 16 while filling in at libero. Led by Morton, the Orange held a 16-6 advantage in blocks against the Huskies with six different players getting in on the action. MacTavish matched her career-best with six block assists, while Todd posted six total rejections.
The Huskies scored the first three points of the opening set before Morton halted the run with a solo block, setting the trend for a Syracuse defense that would out-block Connecticut, 7-1, in the first stanza. Trailing, 5-2, the Orange assembled a seven-point run to take a 9-5 lead before UConn battled back, tying the set at 14. SU quickly reasserted its lead, 17-14, with a three-point run and stayed out in front by at least one point for the remainder of the set en route to a 25-22 victory.
The two teams traded points through the entirety of the second set, tying on 12 separate occasions. Knotted at 23, the hosts scored the final two points of the set, squeezing out a narrow, 25-23 victory to even the match, 1-1.
The back-and-forth play continued into the third set, with the teams tying four times through the first 14 points of the game. Even at 7-7, Syracuse outscored the Huskies 9-2 through the next 11 points to take a 16-9 lead. UConn pulled within three late in the match, 23-20, but couldn't overcome the deficit as SU took the third set, 25-21.
Syracuse carried its momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to an early 10-3 lead courtesy of a three-point serving run by junior defensive specialist Sarah Hayes, and a four-point run by MacTavish. Leading 16-10, Hayes put together another three-point serving run to break the game open, 19-10, before Morton blasted back-to-back service aces to bring up match point for the Orange. Todd solidified the 25-15 fourth-set victory with a game-winning kill from the outside as SU took the match, 3-1.
The Orange returns to Manley Field House over the weekend, looking to remain undefeated at home against South Florida (Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.) and Georgetown (Sunday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m.).
