Volleyball Swept On Final Day Of Candlewood Suites Invitational

Saturday, September 7

Syracuse, N.Y.

11 a.m.

Syracuse University

1-4

Oakland

3-3

Oakland

Syracuse

Junior outside hitter Nicolette Serratore earned all-tournament honors with averages of 3.47 kills and 2.53 digs per set

Volleyball Swept On Final Day Of Candlewood Suites Invitational

9/7/2013 1:52:00 PM | Volleyball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse (1-5) dropped a pair of matches to Oakland (3-3) and Colorado (5-1) on the final day of the Candlewood Suites Invitational at the Women's Building on Saturday, Sept. 7.

In the morning session, the Orange suffered a four-set loss to Oakland (12-25, 25-18, 22-25, 16-25).

Junior outside hitter Nicolette Serratore was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts in the four-game event. She narrowly missed her second-double-double in as many days, finishing with a team-best 15 kills and eight digs against the Golden Grizzlies. Gosia Wlaszczuk also reached double digits with 10 kills and led the team with three block assists. Freshman setter Erica Handley registered 32 assists and Melina Violas tied for a game-high 15 digs.

In the first ever meeting between the two teams, Oakland took the first set 25-12, behind a potent offense that hit at a clip of .500 with 16 kills to just one error.

SU bounced back in the second set, never trailing from the opening point. The Orange put together one of their best sets of the young season, striking 15 kills on 27 attempts with no errors for a hitting percentage of .556. Wlaszczuk led the charge with four kills while Serratore and Silvi Uattara each had three.

Both teams fought back and forth in the third set until the Golden Grizzlies used a string of four consecutive points to grow their lead to 22-16 to help propel them to take the set. Looking to close out the match, Oakland scored the first five points and grabbed a 12-3 lead before cruising to their second victory in the invitational.

In the nightcap, Syracuse stuck with the Buffaloes every step of the way, but the Colorado offense was just too much as they put the Orange away in straight sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-20), despite a season-best .307 team hitting percentage. The tournament champs Buffaloes finished with a .410 hitting clip as a team.

Handley continued her early success, recording team highs of 35 assists and a season-best nine digs. Serratore led the attack with 13 kills and chipped in with seven digs on defense. Syracuse also got strong contributions from Wlaszczuk (eight kills, seven digs), Lindsay McCabe (five kills, four blocks) and Valeriya Shaipova (seven kills).

After SU tied the first set 1-1, the Orange never trailed until back-to back kills gave Colorado a 14-13 lead. Syracuse regained the lead and went up 18-17, but four straight points from the Buffaloes gave the visitors the lead for good in the set.

In the second set, SU grabbed a 6-3 lead and didn't give it back until Colorado rattled off six consecutive points for a 20-15 lead to help propel them to take the set. The Orange stayed close once again in the third set, and tied the score 16-16 following a kill from Serratore. However the Buffaloes responded with four in-a-row with two kills from tournament MVP Taylor Simpson to increase the lead and eventually secure the victory.