Orange Drops Match With Cards In Three

Friday, October 17

Syracuse, NY

7 pm

Syracuse University

7-12, 0-7ACC

Louisville

12-7, 4-3ACC

Louisville

Syracuse

10/17/2014 11:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

After two very close sets to begin the match, Louisville commanded the third to earn the win

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Friday night the Cardinals defeated the Orange in three straight sets, 3-0 (17-25, 24-26, 18-25). Syracuse (7-12, 0-7 ACC) led the majority of the first two sets but couldn't hold on when Louisville (12-7, 4-3 ACC) made its comeback.

How It Happened

The first set looked promising as SU maintained its lead but eventually allowed Louisville to climb back and tie the set at 11. From there Syracuse and Louisville traded points until the score was tied at 16 and the Cards sprung a 9-1 run to take the set, 25-17.

Syracuse came back swinging in the second set, taking an 8-2 lead early on and maintained its lead until match point faced Louisville, 24-21. The Cardinals managed to pull through, winning the next five points to win the second set 26-24. Louisville's consistent productive attack and a strong defense was the difference as the five-point run was powered by two kills and three SU attack errors.

Louisville immediately took control of the third, jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead and won 12 of the next 19 points to command the set, 21-9. The Orange strung together a 9-3 run of its own to try to pull off the comeback but a kill by Katie George from Brooke Betts put the match away, 25-18.

A Look At Louisville

Louisville proved it is a very strong team. The Cardinals out-blocked SU, 7-5, hit above .300, held SU to a .139 hitting percentage or lower and showed resilience, coming back twice to take the first two sets.

UofL was led by Maya McClendon with 14 kills and two block assists. Janelle Jenkins and Tess Clark were the other two Cardinals to record double-digit kills with 12 and 10 respectively. As a team the Cardinals hit .303. Katie George was the feeder, racking up 37 assists on 45 total kills.

Clark led the way on the block with three block assists. Jenkins, McClendon and Maggie DeJong all finished with two block assists each.

Syracuse Stats

Despite the close scores, Syracuse struggled to get anything going offensively as Silvi Uattara was the only member of the Orange to bury 10 kills. The next most was nine at the hands of Monika Salkute. Stacey Smith was next on the score sheet with six kills while Lindsay McCabe was effective, swinging .429.

Gosia Wlaszczuk and Lucie Guttakovskaia both fed the offense with Wlaszczuk picking up 18 assists and Guttakovsaia found six hitters for kills. Salkute and Wlaszczuk both stepped up on the block, recording a team high three block assists each.

Defensively Melina Violas was on the receiving end of the Louisville attack, picking up eight digs. Belle Sand, Uattara and Wlaszczuk each finished with six digs.

Next Up

Sunday at 1:00 PM the Orange will host Wake Forest in the Women's Building. Check out this weekend's preview for the full scouting report on the Demon Deacons.