Orange Lose Five Set Thriller to Morehead State.

Friday, September 13

Lawrence, KS

5 pm

Syracuse University

0-2

Morehead State

5-2

Morehead State

Syracuse

Orange Lose Five Set Thriller to Morehead State.

9/13/2019 10:59:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

LAWRENCE, KS – Syracuse volleyball (0-3) went to the wire in its first game of the Kansas Invitational against Morehead State, ultimately losing, three sets to two. The Orange play the second of their three matches here in Kansas tomorrow night against Arizona at 8 p.m. EST.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse looked like a completely different team from last weekend in Wisconsin. The beginning of the first set was tightly contested. The Orange and the Eagles exchanged points until the score was 15-14 in favor of the Eagles. Starting with a service error from Morehead State, Syracuse would go on an 11-0 run to close out the set, 25-15. The Orange posted a hitting percentage of .433 in the opening set, and recorded 15 kills. Junior Yuliia Yastrub set the pace with four kills for Syracuse in the set.

The second set was consistently even throughout. Both teams went on scoring runs but were unable to break open a significant lead. The Orange would get off to a strong start, taking a 7-5 lead. The Eagles battled back, going on a 10-5 run to make the score 15-12, but Syracuse was able to nod things up at 15 after a big block from sophomore setter Elena Karakasi. The teams found themselves even at 25, before Morehead State won the next two points, taking the set and evening the match. The Orange were exceptional defensively in the first two frames, registering a combined eight blocks. Yastrub led 'Cuse in blocks for the match with seven, and Polina Shemanova added six.

The Orange played from a few points behind for almost all of the third set, after falling into a 0-3 hole. Despite seven kills from Shemanova, and a .462 team hitting percentage, the Orange relinquished the set, 25-22. Shemanova ended the match with a team-leading 24 kills. Neither team scored more than two consecutive points in the set after the Eagles opened with three in a row.

With its back against the wall, Syracuse's fourth set was its strongest. The Orange quickly opened up an 8-1 lead, on the back of three kills and two blocks from Shemanova. Syracuse would keep its foot on the gas, eventually winning the frame by a score of 25-13 to force a deciding fifth set. Freshman Marina Markova contributed two service aces in the set, while Berkley Hayes added one of her own. Markova led the Orange in services aces with six in the match.

The fifth set was another back and forth affair between the two teams. After the Eagles scored three quick points to take a 3-0 lead, a service ace from Aliah Bowllan evened the score at three apiece. Morehead State would slowly pull away, giving themselves a 13-10 advantage. The Orange would make a late push, but ultimately lost by a score of 15-12.

NOTEWORTHY
Despite losing, Syracuse bested the Eagles in points (85), kills (64), service aces (10), blocks (11), assists (54) and digs (57).
Karakasi tallied 40 assists for the Orange, a career high.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Orange return to action Saturday night back at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena to take on Arizona at 8 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. CST.

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