SU Splits In Final Day Of Purdue Active Ankle Challenge

Saturday, September 21

West Lafayette, IN

10 a.m.

Syracuse University

5-6

FIU

6-5

FIU

Syracuse

Junior Nicolette Serratore posted two double-doubles on the final day of the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge

SU Splits In Final Day Of Purdue Active Ankle Challenge

9/21/2013 8:09:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

FIU Box Score | Northern Kentucky Box Score | Season Statistics

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Syracuse volleyball team split a pair of five-set matches at Purdue's Active Ankle Challenge at Holloway Gymnasium on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Erica Handley earned her first all-tournament honors of her young career with an average of 9.1 assists per set, while adding nine kills and 22 digs over two days.

After losing the first two sets, Syracuse (5-7) won the next three sets against FIU (6-5) to earn the comeback win (18-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-11). SU tallied a .385 hitting percentage over the final three sets.

The Orange used a 6-0 run late in the fifth set to come away victorious. Trailing 9-8, kills by Lindsay McCabe, Nicolette Serratore and Erica Handley helped put SU in the lead at 14-9. Two points later, Valeriya Shaipova tallied the game winner.

Serratore posted her second double-double of the season with a team-high 17 kills and 10 digs. Shaipova provided strong play off the bench with 14 kills and nine digs, both career-highs at the time.

Middle blockers Monika Salkute and Lindsay McCabe led the Orange at the net with six and five blocks, respectively. McCabe also hit at a clip of .389 with eight kills. Erica Handley tied her season high with 45 assists and Candace Timberlake finished with a personal-best 18 digs.

FIU scored seven of the last eight points to take the first set and continued that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 13-4 lead. The Panthers extended their lead to 21-8, the largest of the match, and eventually settled for a 25-14 victory in the set behind a .538 hitting percentage.

Syracuse turned things around in the third set, hitting at a clip of .300. The Orange rattled off five consecutive points for a 9-5 advantage, getting a pair of blocks and a kill from McCabe and never trailed again. In the fourth set, SU controlled the tempo from the opening point, grabbing a 12-4 lead early on with the help of a 10-1 run and never looked back, extending the match to a fifth and decisive set.

In both teams final match of the tournament, Northern Kentucky (5-8) walked away with a five-set victory after trailing 2-1 to the Orange (28-26, 20-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-11).

Shaipova finished with a team and career-best 22 kills. Serratore recorded her second double-double of the day with 14 kills and 17 digs. Uattara also reached double figures with a season-best 18 kills. Syracuse totaled 71 kills, the teams highest output since recording 74 against DePaul on Oct. 24, 2010.

Handley dished out a career-best 56 assists, which is the highest-total by an Orange woman since Laura Homann passed out 62 in the same contest versus DePaul. With seven block assists in the nightcap and 12 total on the day, McCabe moved to eighth all-time in program history with 334 career blocks. SU's defensive specialists Melina Violas (15) and Candace Timberlake (9) combined for 24 of SU's 66 digs.

SU maintained a lead throughout the first set when the Norse reeled off six straight points to go up 18-16. The Orange tied the set at 22-22 and the teams exchanged sideouts until Northern Kentucky scored the final two points for a 28-26 win.

The Orange nabbed a 2-1 lead in the match after winning the second and third sets. A 6-1 in the middle of the set gave SU a 20-15 lead. Northern Kentucky got within 21-19, but SU closed out the set with four of the last five points.

A tightly contested third set saw 10 ties and no lead of more than three points for either team until Syracuse broke an even score of 20-20 with four points in-a-row. Shaipova, who nailed two kills during spurt, got a kill to end the set.

With the match on the line, the Norse stepped up in the final two sets to win the match. Northern Kentucky outhit Syracuse in the fourth set .484 to .171 to take it easily. In the final set, leading 8-7, NKU pulled away with six of the next seven points to help propel them to victory.