SU Comes Up Short Against Pitt, 3-1

Sunday, October 12

Syracuse, NY

1 pm

Syracuse University

7-11, 0-6ACC

Pittsburgh

15-2, 3-1ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Pittsburgh	25	17	25	25	3
Syracuse	13	25	23	23	1

10/12/2014 10:57:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Silvi Uattara records her third 20-point game of the season in the loss to Pittsburgh

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – On Sunday afternoon, the Orange battled one of the top teams in the ACC point-for-point but in the end fell short, 3-1 (13-25, 25-17, 23-25, 23-25). The match was well fought by both teams with the Panthers (15-2, 3-1 ACC) slightly out-performing the Orange (7-11, 0-6 ACC).

Panthers Slight The Orange

After a slow start, Syracuse found itself down seven in the first set due to Pitt taking a quick 10-3 lead. The lead proved to be the difference in the set, keeping the momentum in favor of the Panthers and making it difficult for the Orange to climb back into the set as it never came closer than within five points of the opposition.

Pittsburgh held the Orange at bay until it finished off the first set, 25-13 to take an early lead in the match.

Dropping the first set didn't faze Syracuse however, as it came back in the second set taking the first two points and never giving up the lead the rest of the way. The Panthers managed to climb back to tie the score at four and six early on.

Despite the pressure, Syracuse had other plans as it pulled away, extending its lead little-by-little until a four point burst to bring the score to 17-11, awarded SU the separation it needed to finish the set. The second stanza came to a close with a booming kill by Silvi Uattara to win the set, 25-17.

Following two one-sided sets, the third and fourth were statistically near identical with Syracuse falling on the losing side of things both sets. Both teams were resilient, never letting the score get out of hand as they traded blows with nine tie scores in the third, and 12 tie scores and three lead changes in the fourth frame.

The Panthers barely out-hit Syracuse with a .140 hitting percentage in the third to SU's .121 percentage with both team's stepping up even more with Pitt out-hitting 'Cuse in the fourth as well, .086-to-.080.

It was anyone's set in the third as the competitors found themselves tied up at 23 and the serve in the hands of Syracuse. Pitt fought to get the ball to Jenna Jacobson who found Casey Durham on the outside for the kill to force set point on the Orange. Once Pitt regrouped, Amanda Orchard served a ball to the back row that caught a 'Cuse serve receive defense in the midst of some miscommunication by surprise for a set-winning ace.

Stanza four was a similar story. Both teams were knotted up a 23 but Pitt's offense held tough and forced Syracuse out of its rhythm eventually presenting match point to the Orange after an error. Once again, Durham was Pittsburgh's savior as she put Syracuse away with a kill assisted by Delaney Clesen.

Pittsburgh Stat Analysis

After hitting .400 in the first set, the Orange gave the Panthers trouble as the offense dropped the next three sets to .206 and below. Jessica Wynn and Maria Genitsaridi led the way for Pitt with 15 and 13 kills respectively. Orchard was the most efficient, hitting .417 with 10 kills on the afternoon.

Setters, Lindsey Zitke and Jenna Jacobson were a true test for the Orange as they were perhaps the best setting tandem the Orange has faced in 2014. Zitke connected for 24 assists while Jacobson was credited with 19.

Three players were targeted or were on the receiving end for the majority of SU's attempts and all three rose to the challenge. The Pittsburgh libero, Delaney Clesen, led the trio with 22 digs while Wynn and Jacobson recorded 16 and 12 digs respectively.

Kate Yeazel was the Panthers' leader in blocks with five total. The next most was recorded by Jenna Potts who was assisted on four.

Breaking Down The Orange

With Valeriya Shaipova coming back and Lucie Guttakovskaia proving ready for the collegiate level, Coach Yelin mixed up his lineup at times to give SU more size up front. The new grouping featured both setters, Guttakovskaia and Gosia Wlaszczuk, on the floor.

The lineup helped in three phases of the game immediately as SU was able to better handle a very strong Pittsburgh attack. Two setters on the court allowed two players rather than one, to handle the first pass following a difficult dig to get the offense back in sync for a clean look at a kill. The team's starter, Wlaszczuk, found hitters 28 times for the kill while Guttakovskaia had six.

SU's new package also allows Wlaszczuk to do what she's been trained to do the majority of her life. When Guttakovskaia was in a position to set, Wlaszczuk was there for the kill on the right side. Wlaszczuk finished with six kills on the day.

The grouping also better suits SU's strength. At 6-3, Guttakovskaia is the tallest setter in the conference, giving Syracuse a larger group making it a better blocking team. Also bettering Syracuse's blocking was the shifting of Monica Salkute back to her natural position at middle blocker. Now with Shaipova, Wlaszczuk and Stacey Smith getting more looks on the right side, Salkute can now does what she does best and create havoc at the net.

The changes paid off as 'Cuse out-blocked Pittsburgh, 13-to-9 and four SU players had five blocks or more over the course of four sets. Salkute denied the most attempts, assisting on seven blocks while Lindsay McCabe assisted on six.

Silvi Uattara and Smith also excelled at the net for SU as they each assisted on five blocks in the match. Shaipova, Wlaszczuk and Guttakovskaia all had one block assist each.

If the ball passed the hands of the SU front line there were three members of the Orange who were there for the first pass. Uattara and Wlaszczuk each led the team with 16 while the libero, Melina Violas, recorded 13.

Uattara recorded her third match of the season and her second consecutive match with 20 or more kills. The junior led the match with 21 kills. Wlaszczuk and McCabe tied with six kills each while McCabe finished with the best hitting percentage of the day for SU, hitting .429. Salkute and Smith were also credited with four kills each.

SU Welcomes Two More To The Women's Building

Friday, October 17 Louisville comes to Syracuse for a 7:00 PM start in the Women's Building. On Sunday, Syracuse's home stand comes to a close as it hosts Wake Forest at 1:00 PM on October 19.