Volleyball Outlasts Virginia Tech In Five For First ACC Win

Sunday, October 27

Syracuse, NY

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

13-9,1-9ACC

Virginia Tech

7-13,1-9ACC

Virginia Tech

Syracuse

Volleyball Outlasts Virginia Tech In Five For First ACC Win

10/27/2024 6:42:00 PM | Volleyball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Finding itself in a second five-setter in as many matches this week, the Syracuse University volleyball team (13-9, 1-9 ACC) held on to defeat Virginia Tech (7-13, 1-9 ACC) on Sunday at the Women's Building.

The Orange lost the opening set and trailed 2-1 before rallying to win the final two frames. Syracuse delivered an impressive fifth-set performance, hitting .522 and putting down 13 kills to secure its first conference win of the season.

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"I'm really happy for the team and really proud of the way they stuck in this match and performed all the way to the end," head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse won seven of the match's first eight points to take an early lead. Sydney Moore assisted on a pair of blocks during the stretch, with Zharia Harris-Waddy, Skylar George and Sara Wasiakowska all pitching in one kill each. The Hokies responded immediately with a 9-0 run to take the lead back. After a Virginia Tech service error, Ava Palm delivered back-to-back kills to tie the score at 10-10. The teams continued to trade points from there and another Harris-Waddy kill knotted the score again at 20-20. However, Virginia Tech won five of the final six points to earn a 25-21 victory.

Virginia Tech held an early 4-2 advantage in the second set before the Orange reeled off the next five points sparked by a pair of Harris-Waddy kills to go ahead 7-4. A 6-0 Syracuse run later in the set that included two kills by George and one by Palm helped the Orange build a 17-9 advantage. A block from Moore and Mira Ledermueller established a double-digit lead at 20-10, and kills down the stretch by Moore, Palm and Harris-Waddy helped 'Cuse close out a 25-16 win.

The Hokies won the first three points of the third and built as large as a seven-point lead at 18-11. From there, a Harris-Waddy kill ignited a 5-0 Syracuse run that brought the Orange back within two. The scoring stretch also included kills from George and Wasiakowska and an ace by Palm. The late charge was not enough for Syracuse, though, as Virginia Tech steadied itself for another 25-21 win.

In familiar territory after also finding themselves 2-1 down on Wednesday against Virginia, Syracuse went back to work in a thrilling fourth set. Trailing 4-3, Syracuse launched a 7-0 run that included two Harris-Waddy aces and two blocks to take a 10-4 lead. The teams traded points throughout the middle stages of the set before a 4-0 Virginia Tech burst brought the Hokies back to within two at 17-15. Syracuse rebuilt a four-point lead at 23-19, but the Hokies again responded with a 4-0 run to even the score at 23-23. Palm put down a kill on the next point to move 'Cuse within one of the set, but Virginia Tech saved a set point with a kill. A Virginia Tech service error on the next point gave Syracuse another chance, which the Orange converted via a Hokies error.

The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair that featured small margins between the teams. Neither team won consecutive points in the frame until Syracuse won three in a row with a kill by Anastasiia Nikolnikova and two from George to go ahead 7-5. Virginia Tech finally won consecutive points with three straight of their own later in the set to take a 10-9 lead. The teams split the next two points before back-to-back Harris-Waddy kills put 'Cuse ahead 12-11. The Hokies won the next point, but Harris-Waddy again gave the Orange a one-point lead with a kill. A Virginia Tech kill yet again tied the score at 13-13, but Skylar George finished the match with consecutive kills to seal a Syracuse victory.

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NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Three Syracuse players registered double-digit kills Sunday – Ava Palm (19), Skylar George (14) and Zharia Harris-Waddy (13).
Palm hit .200 on 45 swings and came just one kill short of reaching 20 in consecutive matches. Palm had eight kills on 12 attacks in Syracuse's crucial fourth-set victory. She also recorded her fifth double-double of the season and second straight by posting 10 digs.
George also delivered her fourth double-double of the season by adding 13 digs to compliment her 14 kills. The redshirt freshman led the Orange with six kills in the final set, with the last two coming on the final two points of the match. The 14 kills were George's most in an ACC match this season.
Harris-Waddy reached double-digit kills for the first time in her career Sunday, as the sophomore's 13 kills came on just 25 swings. She had four kills in the final set to help Syracuse close out the match and added three blocks and a pair of aces on the day.
Syracuse reached double-digit blocks as a team for the second time in ACC play this season with 11 rejections. Sara Wasiakowska led the Orange in blocks with six to go along with seven kills, with Sydney Moore notching five rejections. Four more Syracuse players had multiple blocks.
Mira Ledermueller made her second straight start at setter and paced 'Cuse with 41 assists. It was her second time this season surpassing 40 assists, with the other coming against Fordham on Sept. 6 when she had a career-high 43. The sophomore also had seven digs and two blocks.
Veronica Sierzant (12) also posted double-digit assists.
In addition to George and Palm, Greta Schlichter also tallied double-digit digs Sunday, as the sophomore tied her career-high with 17 to lead the team.
After entering in the third set, Anastasiia Nikolnikova made a significant impact, racking up six kills on 10 attempts to go along with three blocks.
Of Syracuse's 15 points in the final set, 13 came via kills. The Orange hit .522 in the fifth to finish the day hitting at a .208 clip.
The Orange delivered a season-best 60 kills as a team, their most in a match since hitting 62 on Oct. 16, 2022, against North Carolina.
Syracuse eclipsed 60 digs for the third time in ACC play this season with 61 against the Hokies.
This was the first successful 2-1 comeback for Syracuse since the Orange did so against Boston College on Nov. 24, 2019.
Syracuse improved to 2-1 on the season in five-set matches with the victory. This was the first five-set ACC win for the Orange since Oct. 16, 2022, against North Carolina.
The win was Syracuse's first in ACC play since the Orange defeated Virginia on Nov. 6, 2022, snapping a 31-match conference losing streak.

UP NEXT
Syracuse heads back to North Carolina for its second ACC weekend in the state this season. The Orange will face NC State on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. before taking on Wake Forest on Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. Both contests will be streamed live on ACCNX.

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