SU Wins Big Orange Tournament Crown

Saturday, August 27

Women's Building

12:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

2-0

Youngstown State

0-2

Youngstown State

Syracuse University

Senior Noemie Lefebvre equaled her career high with 22 digs Saturday against Youngstown State.

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

8/27/2011 9:32:03 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Youngstown State Box Score | Siena Box Score | Photos

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse women's volleyball team captured the 2011 Big Orange Tournament title with a pair of victories on Saturday, Aug. 27 at the Women's Building. The Orange (3-0) rallied to defeat Youngstown State in five sets (23-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21, 15-8) and swept Siena, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-19), in the tournament's final match.

In the process, the Orange extended its non-conference winning streak to 21 matches dating back to 2009.

“Obviously, it's great to get the season off to a good start,” Orange assistant coach Kelly Morrisroe said of winning the tournament championship. “I think we learned a lot from the first match today and executed much better against Siena. I think our performance this weekend was a big confidence booster.”

Tournament MVP Noemie Lefebvre led the Orange with 28 kills Saturday and had 44 for the tournament. She was joined on the all-tournament team by freshman teammate Ying Shen, who tallied 22 kills in Saturday's two matches, including tying for team-high honors with 14 against Siena.

Against Youngstown State, the Orange lost the first two sets by a total of four points, but rallied to win the final three sets. Syracuse dominated the Penguins, 25-15, in the third and posted a 25-21 fourth-set victory to square the match.

In the deciding fifth set, the Orange opened up a 4-1 advantage and cruised to a 15-8 victory to complete the comeback.

Shen was the catalyst. After not playing the first two sets versus the Penguins, the rookie recorded eight kills in the last three. She also had a pair of service aces.

Overall, Lefebvre paced SU with 14 kills in the contest and she tied her career high with 22 digs.

In addition to Shen and Lefebvre's performances, the Orange also got solid play from freshman Andrea Fisher and senior Ashley Williams in the match. Fisher contributed 10 kills and Williams recorded 18 digs.

Missy Hundelt tallied 19 kills and Casey D'Ambrose registered 40 assists in a losing effort to lead Youngstown State.

In the nightcap versus Siena, the Orange never trailed in either of the first two sets and rolled to a 3-0 victory. Shen, Fisher and Lefebvre totaled 14 kills apiece. Shen also recorded 17 digs, while Williams chipped in with 22.

For the Saints, all-tournament performer Taylor Akana led the way with seven kills.

In Saturday's other two matches, Sacred Heart proved to be too much for Siena and Youngstown State to handle. The Pioneers defeated the Saints (25-23, 25-23, 25-14) and Penguins (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) in straight sets to claim second place.

The Orange returns to action next weekend. Syracuse will face Utah State, Texas State and Idaho State at the Utah State Tournament on Friday, Sept. 2 and Saturday, Sept. 3. The Orange will also play a road match at Utah Valley on Monday, Sept. 5.

2011 Big Orange Tournament Order of Finish (Record)

1. Syracuse (3-0)

2. Sacred Heart (2-1)

3. Siena (1-2)

4. Youngstown State (0-3)

2011 Big Orange All-Tournament Team

Noemie Lefebvre (MVP), Syracuse

Ying Shen, Syracuse

Kimmee Roleder, Sacred Heart

Taylor Akana, Siena

Missy Hundelt, Youngstown State