Syracuse University
21-10, 9-5
Villanova University
16-12, 5-8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villanova | 19 | 22 | 24 | 0 |
| Syracuse | 25 | 25 | 26 | 3 |
Senior Day Sweep
11/13/2009 9:44:54 PM | Volleyball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange (21-10, 9-5) capped off its regular-season schedule with a 3-0 sweep of Villanova (16-12, 5-8) on Friday night at Manley Field House. Syracuse honored the careers of seniors Kacie MacTavish, Shanetha McLaurin, Sarah Morton and Annabelle Pellerin in a senior day ceremony prior to the match, before sending the seniors off with the best conference record since 2005.
Morton powered the Orange offense, hitting .346 with 26 kills while sophomore outside hitter Noemie Lefebvre was second on the team with 10 kills. Junior Hayley Todd added to the offensive onslaught, posting eight kills while Pellerin had six. Rookie setter Laura Homann directed the Syracuse attack, dishing out a match-best 38 assists.
McLaurin led the defense, collecting a team-best 14 kills, while Lefebvre had 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. MacTavish had seven digs while Homann and junior defensive specialist Sarah Hayes each posted six back row pick-ups. Morton was the defensive leader at the net, tallying seven total blocks while Lefebvre and Todd each had three.
Syracuse proved to be the tougher team in the first set. With the match knotted, 16-16, the Orange came out firing, outscoring the Wildcats, 9-3, to take an easy, 25-19 first-set victory.
The two teams played closely through the second set, but SU maintained a slight edge, remaining out in front of the Wildcats by at least one-point en route to a 25-22 second-set win.
The Orange closed out the sweep in spectacular fashion, erasing a four-point deficit to take a 26-24 come-from-behind victory prompting a Gatorade shower for head coach Jing Pu.
Syracuse now awaits its BIG EAST Tournament seed as the rest of the conference teams conclude league play on Sunday. The first round of the BIG EAST Tournament begins on Friday, November 20 in Louisville, Ky.
