Orange Win Fifth Straight

Sunday, November 10

Syracuse, NY

12 pm

Syracuse University

Virginia Tech

11/10/2019 2:50:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery Visual Recap

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse volleyball (10-11, 7-7 ACC) powered its way to a three-set victory over Virginia Tech at home on Sunday afternoon to win their fifth straight Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) match. The Orange recorded a season high .427 hitting percentage en route to the victory with Ella Saada notching a season-high three service aces and Polina Shemanova leading the team with 17 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse roared out to a quick 9-3 advantage in the opening frame, highlighted by three kills from Shemanova and another pair from Abby Casiano, forcing a Virginia Tech timeout. The Orange attack continued, with Ella Saada notching three kills and Shemanova adding another two of her own. The Orange sealed the first set victory, 25-17, with a touch out-of-bounds by Tech's Marisa Cerchio.

The second stanza was closely contested to start with the 'Cuse opening a narrow 11-9 advantage, highlighted by numerous diving stops from Aliah Bowllan and another three kills from Shemanova. The Orange fired off six unanswered points to take a 17-9 lead and force a timeout from the Hokies. Out of the timeout, Saada smashed two kills and notched her second ace of the match to clinch the second set for Syracuse, 25-15.

The final frame featured another strong start from the Orange, rattling off a 4-0 run that included an ace from Elena Karakasi to build an 8-4 advantage. After the Hokies called time at 8-5, 'Cuse exploded for another 5-0 run, powered by pair of kills from Shemanova and by Saada's season-high third ace to extend the Orange lead to 13-5. Saada and Shemanova continued their strong play for the remainder of the set, accounting for six out of the final eight Syracuse kills to lead the Orange to a dominant 25-13 third set victory to sweep the match.

NOTEWORTHY
Shemanova recorded her 400^th kill of the year upon slamming her ninth of the set.

Karakasi recorded 35 assists to extend her team-lead to 676 assists.

BY THE NUMBERS
Points: Virginia Tech 30, Syracuse 58
Kills: Virginia Tech 27, Syracuse 45
Aces: Virginia Tech 1, Syracuse 5
Blocks: Virginia Tech 2, Syracuse 8
Assists: Virginia Tech 26, Syracuse 42
Digs: Virginia Tech 28, Syracuse 43

WHAT'S NEXT
The Orange kick off a two-game road trip on Friday when they travel to Kentucky for a rematch with Louisville at 7:00 p.m. Syracuse will then face Notre Dame on Sunday in South Bend.

For continued coverage of Syracuse Volleyball, follow us on Twitter (@CuseVB), Instagram (@cusevb) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Volleyball).