Orange Drop Five-Set Battle to Wolfpack

Friday, October 21

Raleigh, NC

6 pm

Syracuse University

5-14, 4-5ACC

NC State

12-9, 5-4ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Syracuse	25	21	19	26	12	2
NC State	18	25	25	24	15	3

10/21/2016 8:49:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Ebangwese leads Orange on offense, defense

RALEIGH, N.C. – A season-high 14 kills and nine blocks for sophomore middle blocker Santita Ebangwese wasn't enough for the Orange volleyball team, as Syracuse fell in five sets (25-18, 21-25, 19-25, 26-24, 12-15) to NC State on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum. The Orange are now 4-5 in conference play and 5-14 overall.

Ebangwese led both the offensive and defensive effort for the Orange, as the sophomore hit .281 percent on the night (14K – 5E – 32A).

Freshman Mackenzie Weaver tallied her fourth career double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs on the night. The outside hitter added four assisted stops.

Junior Leah Levert was the third Orange player to tally double-digit offensive numbers, as the middle blocker had 10 kills on the night. Levert also registered eight blocks.

Syracuse dominated on the block, tallying 17.0 team stops to NC State's 4.0 at the net.

The Orange took an early lead in the first and never looked back, as Syracuse led by as much as seven points before NC State (12-9, 5-4 ACC) called a timeout late in the set.

'Cuse grabbed an eighth point coming out of the break and left the Wolfpack behind, finishing out the set, 25-18, with a kill from Weaver.

Syracuse led the second set until the game was tied, 12-12, and NC State took over with a 5-1 run (17-13 NCS). The Wolfpack continued the momentum to finish out set two on top, 25-21.

The Orange pushed back, but NC State powered through the third set to win, 25-19.

In an effort to extend the game to five sets, the Orange came out with fire in the fourth set, matching NC State's 3-0 run with a 3-0 run of their own.

The Orange and the Wolfpack sided out throughout the entire fourth game, as the set was tied 10 times until Syracuse was able to force the fifth set by winning the fourth in extra points, 26-24.

The fifth set remained within two points until NC State grabbed a three-point lead to force a Syracuse timeout (7-10 NCS).

A 5-2 Orange run tied the game at 12 and forced the Wolfpack to call its first timeout of the set.

NC State managed a 3-0 run to close out the fifth set, 15-12, and claim the five-set battle, 3-2.

Syracuse continues its weekend in North Carolina, as the Orange face #8 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sunday. The first serve is set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPNU/WatchESPN.

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