Syracuse University
4-2
Cleveland State University
6-1
Orange Comes Up Short at Cleveland State
9/5/2009 9:04:00 PM | Volleyball
Despite having four hitters with double-digit kills, Syracuse could not capitalize on its early two-set lead, falling to Cleveland State, 3-2 at the CSU Invitational on Saturday morning. Senior outside hitter Kacie MacTavish led the Orange offense with 14 kills while middle blocker Sarah Morton had 12.
The Orange was superior early, opening the first set with a block assist by Morton and senior Annabelle Pellerin and back-to-back service aces by Shanetha McLaurin for a 3-0 lead. Superior net play coupled with CSU errors helped SU roll through the first set, breaking the game open with a 12-point lead, 22-10, en route to a 25-15 victory.
The Vikings minimized their errors in the second set, as the two teams traded points before CSU took a 15-10 lead. The Orange battled back from the deficit, tying the game at 20 to begin a back-and-forth fight to the finish. Relying on its dominant play at the net, kills by Morton and MacTavish, a block by Morton and freshman Laura Homann, a solo stop by Homann and a CSU attack error helped the Orange close a game-two victory, 25-22.
CSU sought its revenge by leading the entirety of the third set to secure a 25-19 victory before evening the match with a narrow 25-23 win in game four.
Syracuse opened the deciding set with a 7-3 run, but the tournament hosts would not relent, knotting the game at 14 and scoring the final two points for a 16-14 fifth-set victory and a 3-2 win.
Junior Hayley Todd had 10 kills while sophomore Noemie Lefebvre added 10 and Pellerin chipped in eight. Homann fueled the SU attack with 49 assists while adding a pair of kills.
McLaurin set the standard in the back row logging 32 assists, while Lefebvre and MacTavish had 16 and 13, respectively. Morton was the defensive leader at the net with eight block assists helping the Orange out block CSU, 13-4.
Next up for the SU is the Rhode Island Tournament beginning Friday, Sept. 11 where they are slated to face Brown, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
