Orange Sweep Tigers on Senior Day

Friday, November 29

Syracuse, NY

2 pm

Syracuse University

12-13,9-9ACC

Clemson

11-18,5-13ACC

Clemson

Syracuse

11/29/2019 5:24:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Head coach Leonid Yelin earned his 600th career win as Syracuse volleyball (12-13, 9-9 ACC) swept Clemson (11-18, 5-13 ACC) on Senior Day. The Orange sent seniors Aliah Bowllan and Kendra Lukacs off with a sweep victory over the Tigers. With the win, coach Yelin becomes the 18th active Division I coach to reach the milestone.

Polina Shemanova and Elena Karakasi led the Orange with 22 kills and 41 assists, respectively, while holding Kaylin Korte, the Tiger's kill leader, to just eight kills. Lukacs recorded 12 digs and an ace in her final career match.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams bounced points back and forth to start the match before Syracuse went on an 8-0 run with a kill by Karakasi to go up 14-6. Clemson cut its deficit to 20-17 with back-to-back blocks by Ashtynne Alberts and Ava Pritchard but an Ella Saada strike kept the Orange ahead, 23-20. Shemanova found the floor to put the set away, 25-22, and put 'Cuse up 1-0.

'Cuse block errors and a Korte ace put Clemson up, 6-2, early in the second frame. The Tigers continued to build off Orange mistakes, going up 14-9 and forcing Yelin to call a timeout. Syracuse's scrappy play kept the score close, and a 4-0 Orange run gave them their first lead, 22-21, heading into the final points of the frame. Syracuse outkilled Clemson, 16-9, to secure the close 25-23 win and 2-0 lead in the match.

Syracuse pulled ahead, 11-6, early thanks to kills by Saada and Karakasi. Clemson struggled to piece together offense, and a big block by Karakasi and Shemanova extended the Syracuse lead to 17-8. Shemanova set the pace for the Orange, notching nine kills in the final frame, and helping the team go 13-13 on sideouts. Syracuse took the set 25-13 and secured the sweep.

NOTEWORTHY
Shemanova ends her sophomore campaign with 485 kills, the fourth most in Syracuse volleyball history and most since the 25-point scoring method was implemented. The Orange captain also posted 5.16 kills per set, a new program record, and 31 service aces, tied for fourth since 2008. She earned three ACC Player of the Week honors this season.

Karakasi finished the season with 804 assists as the primary setter. That mark ranks 10^th in 'Cuse history since the introduction of 25-point scoring.

Yelin now holds a career record of 600-270 for a .690 winning percentage.

Syracuse ends its 2019 campaign with 12 total wins, including its 900th win in program history last week against Boston College. Thank you to all our fans for their continued support throughout the season.

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