Volleyball Continues Road Swing With Matches in Boston

BOSTON, MASS. – The Syracuse volleyball team (1-4) heads to Massachusetts this weekend to face Northeastern (5-5) and Harvard (2-5) in back-to-back matches. The Orange take on the Huskies Friday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m., before traveling to Cambridge to face the Crimson in a 2 p.m. Saturday matchup. Syracuse is coming off its first win of the season at Kansas, 3-0.

THE OPPONENTS
Northeastern heads into the weekend with a 5-5 record after starting their season with the Green Bay Invite, Seton Hall Classic, and Fairfield/Sacred Heart Hampton Invitational. Sophomore outside hitter Brianna Daphnis leads the Huskies with 108 kills, and senior middle blocker Natalie Shollin has posted 37 blocks, which is good for most in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Senior Claire Lund leads the CAA in total digs (159) and digs per set (4.54). Northeastern is coming off a 1-2 performance in Fairfield, their lone victory coming against NJIT.

Harvard returns home after going 0-3 in the Thunderdome Classic in Santa Barbara, Calif. last weekend. The Crimson are 2-5 on the season and average 11.39 kills per set. They're led by junior outside hitter Evelyn Gray who averages 2.33 kills per set (63 total). Harvard's wins have come against Sacred Heart and Rhode Island.

'CUSE LEADERS
Reigning ACC Freshman of the Year and sophomore captain Polina Shemanova leads the Orange in kills (76), while freshman teammate Marina Markova has aced 15 times this season to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Markova currently ranks third in the nation in aces per set with 0.88 and Shemanova's 76 kills are good for third in the ACC.

Markova's 19 kills in the win at Kansas was the sixth-most by a Syracuse player in a three-set match in program history, and a career-high.

TOP-RANKED OPPONENTS
The Orange have played the second-hardest schedule in Division I volleyball through their first five matches, with their opening opponents holding a combined 27-10 record. 'Cuse was one of 12 teams in the NCAA to face two ranked opponents in its first two games of the season in 2019 (#17 Baylor & #11 Marquette). The Orange also face #6 Pittsburgh, #23 Florida State and #25 Louisville (twice) this season.

ACE IN THE HOLE
Syracuse has posted 33 service aces in 17 sets played, an average of 1.94 aces per set. This ranks second in the ACC.

YELIN CLOSE TO MILESTONE
Syracuse head coach Leonid Yelin is closing in on the 600 career-win mark coming into his 28th season as an intercollegiate coach. Yelin has a career record of 589-261 and is in his eighth year as head coach of the Orange. He spent 15 seasons as head coach of Louisville before coming to Syracuse.

UP NEXT
Syracuse continues its road stretch in Atlanta on Friday, Sept. 27, starting ACC play against Georgia Tech. The Orange then travel to Clemson, S.C. to face Clemson Sunday, Sept. 29 before returning to Syracuse to play their home opener on Friday, Oct. 4 against Wake Forest.

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Volleyball Continues Road Swing With Matches in Boston

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Players Mentioned

Marina Markova

Polina Shemanova

Syracuse University Athletics