Orange Fall In Four At Boston College

Sunday, November 24

Chestnut Hill, MA

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

14-16,2-16ACC

Boston College

14-16,7-11ACC

Syracuse

Boston College

11/24/2024 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Skylar George and Veronica Sierzant both registered double-doubles Sunday for the Syracuse University volleyball team (14-16, 2-16 ACC) but Boston College (14-16, 7-11 ACC) defeated the Orange in four hard-fought sets at Connell Recreation Center.

George had 13 kills and 12 digs while Sierzant posted 39 assists go along with 13 digs. The underclassmen helped Syracuse come from behind to take the opening set before the Orange lost the next three frames.

This was the second match this week between the two teams, as Boston College clipped Syracuse in a five-set marathon on Wednesday night at the Women's Building. There was little margin between the teams across the two matches, with seven of the nine sets being decided by five points or less.

How It Happened
The Eagles opened the first set on a 7-4 scoring run before Syracuse went on a 4-1 stretch of its own behind two Ava Palm kills to even the score, 8-8. The teams traded points until Boston College finally pulled ahead by two, 15-13. The Eagles built a four-point advantage at 19-15 but the Orange responded with a 5-2 run that included three kills by Skylar George to pull within one. Boston College won two of the next three points to arrive at set point, but Syracuse saved the first on a bad set by the Eagles and another thanks to a George termination. A block by Pola Bujnarowska and Palm saved a third and leveled the score before Palm moved the Orange in front with her fifth kill of the frame. Syracuse converted its first set point after a Boston College attack error, as the Orange finished with a 5-0 flurry to take the opening set, 26-24.

Syracuse carried its momentum into the second set, opening the frame on an 8-2 run to force an early Boston College timeout. The stretch included two aces from Zharia Harris-Waddy, another by Emma Ortiz and a pair of Sydney Moore kills. A George kill out of the timeout extended the 'Cuse lead to seven, but Boston College answered by taking six of the next seven to force a Syracuse timeout with the Orange up 10-8. Syracuse re-established a five-point lead behind a 4-0 run that featured three Palm kills before Boston College charged back to go ahead for the first time since it was 1-0 at 18-17. George knotted the score with a kill on the next point, but the Eagles won the next six to claim the second set, 25-18.

Much like the second, Syracuse raced out to an early advantage in the third by winning eight of the first 11 points. The opening scoring run featured a pair of Palm kills and two blocks that Anastasiia Nikolnikova assisted on. However, Boston College again worked its way back into the frame, eventually taking a 13-12 lead. Syracuse answered with a 3-0 spurt that included a kill and ace from George. After a media timeout, Boston College went back up, 18-16, before George put down an equalizing kill two points later. The Eagles returned to a two-point lead, but Syracuse tied the score at 20-20, and again at 21-21 and 22-22. A pair of Boston College kills brought the Eagles to set point, but Palm erased the first with a kill, forcing a Boston College timeout. An Orange net violation on the ensuing point sealed a 25-23 victory for the Eagles.

In the fourth set, it was Boston College that raced out to a lead, scoring eight of the first nine points. However, Syracuse charged back to make the score 8-7 with a 6-0 run that began with a Palm kill and was capped with a Nikolnikova termination. The Eagles went back up three at 13-10 before consecutive kills by Harris-Waddy and Sara Wasiakowska moved Syracuse within one. Syracuse came back to within one again at 16-15 following a George kill, but the Eagles responded with three straight to take a 19-15 advantage. From there, the Orange came back to take their first lead of the frame behind a 6-0 flurry that saw a Veronica Sierzant kill, an Ortiz ace and a Nikolnikova kill. However, Boston College answered with the next four points on the way to a 25-22 win to clinch the match.

Notes & Highlights

Skylar George turned in her sixth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs. It was her third double-double to come in ACC play.
Ava Palm paced the Orange with 16 kills and came within a dig of a double-double herself. The graduate student hit .227 on 44 swings and added four blocks.
Anastasiia Nikolnikova recorded nine kills, her most in a match since she had 10 at Duke on Sept. 29. She hit .366 on 19 swings. The junior also had four rejections.
Making her sixth straight start at setter, Veronica Sierzant posted 39 assists and 13 digs, both of which led the Orange. It was her sixth double-double of the season, all of which have come against conference opponents. The sophomore also led the team with five blocks, which matched her career high.
Greta Schlichter also reached double figures in digs with 12, marking her third straight effort with 10+ digs.
Freshman Emma Ortiz hit a team-best three aces. Zharia Harris-Waddy was close behind with two.
Pola Bujnarowska made her third start of the season and first since Oct. 6. She assisted on two blocks.
Syracuse put down 11 blocks as a team, as the Orange have now recorded double-digit rejections in four of the last five contests.
The Orange led the Eagles in aces, 6-5.

Up Next
Syracuse will host California on Nov. 27 in its final home match of the season at the Women's Building. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ACCNX.

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