Orange Sweeps Canisius, Finishes Undefeated At Salt City Classic

Saturday, August 31

Syracuse, NY

7:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

3-0,0-0ACC

Canisius (at LeMoyne)

2-2,0-0MAAC

Syracuse

Canisius

Orange Sweeps Canisius, Finishes Undefeated At Salt City Classic

8/31/2024 11:19:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse University volleyball team (3-0) capped off a perfect weekend at the Salt City Classic on Saturday night with a sweep of Canisius. The match was played at Le Moyne's Ted Grant Court.

The Orange finish the Salt City Classic with a 3-0 record after yesterday's wins against NJIT and Lafayette at the Women's Building. Ava Palm was selected as the tournament's MVP with Skylar George and Sydney Moore both earning All-Tournament honors.

Leaving the Salt City Classic with 3️⃣ wins and 3️⃣ All-Tournament honors!

Congrats to Ava, Skylar and Sydney! 👏#BackStronger | #TheRedemptionTour pic.twitter.com/yl678nme8i
— Syracuse Volleyball (@CuseVB) September 1, 2024

HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse trailed by as many as three early but quickly turned the tide in the opening set. With the score knotted at 9-9, 'Cuse went on a 4-0 run highlighted by kills from Ava Palm and Sara Wasiakowska. Two kills later in the set by Skylar George and a pair of aces from Anastasiia Nikolnikova helped move the Orange ahead 22-13. Canisius mounted a late push, but George's fourth kill of the opening frame secured a 25-20 'Cuse win.

The Orange commanded the second set from start to finish to win 25-12. 'Cuse won seven of the first nine points behind six combined kills from Palm, Wasiakowska and Sydney Moore. Syracuse's offensive onslaught continued throughout the set, as the team finished with 18 kills from seven different players.

The third set was the most competitive of the match. Syracuse took an early 11-7 lead, but Canisius answered with a 7-0 run to go up by three. The Orange erased the deficit and a late 6-0 run fueled by three blocks put them up 24-19 late in the set. Fittingly, Syracuse converted match point with another block by Nikolnikova and Veronica Sierzant.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Ava Palm was tabbed as the MVP of the Salt City Classic following another strong performance against Canisius. She led the Orange with 11 kills to finish the event with 37. The graduate student hit .266 in the tournament and averaged 3.70 kills per set.
Sydney Moore delivered 10 kills on 15 attempts to secure All-Tournament honors. She finished the tournament with 23 kills and 12 blocks.
Syracuse's final All-Tournament honoree was Skylar George, who had eight kills against Canisius. The redshirt freshman had 21 kills and 14 digs through the tournament's three matches.
For the second consecutive match, Veronica Sierzant tallied 32 assists, which matched the career high she set Friday night against Lafayette. The sophomore averaged 8.60 assists per set during the Salt City Classic. She also added seven digs against Canisius, the second most on the team.
Anastasiia Nikolnikova was a force at the net, putting down seven kills and five blocks to lead the Orange. Four of the rejections came in the final six points of the match. The junior's 14 blocks paced the team in the Salt City Classic. She also had a career-high five aces Saturday to lead the team
Freshman Emma Ortiz posted double-digit digs (13) for the first time in her young career Saturday night. She was one of Syracuse's two liberos in each of the three matches at the Salt City Classic.
After missing last season due to injury, sophomore Sydnie Waller made the first appearance of her Orange career and delivered three kills. Ashlee Gnau also saw the first match action of her college career, as the freshman recorded two digs.
For the third straight match, the Orange hit over .300, as the team finished Saturday hitting .376. This is the team's first streak of three matches hitting at least .300 since 2021.
'Cuse hit 11 aces on Saturday, its most since also hitting 11 on Nov. 26, 2022, against North Carolina State.
Syracuse's 44 kills were the most for the team in a three-set match since Sept. 3, 2022, when the Orange had 46 in a win against North Florida.
The Orange came one block short of a third consecutive double-digit block effort to begin the season. 'Cuse averaged 2.1 blocks per set in the tournament.
This is Syracuse's first 3-0 start since 2021, when the Orange won their first seven contests.

SALT CITY CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Ines Varela, NJIT
Haley Gerken, Le Moyne
Kara Zaucha, Canisius
Carol Ulichney, Lafayette
Hannah Ehrich-Pollock, Lafayette
Skylar George, Syracuse
Sydney Moore, Syracuse
Ava Palm, Syracuse (Tournament MVP)

UP NEXT
'Cuse heads to New York City on Sept. 6-7 to compete in the Big Apple Tournament, which Columbia will host. The Orange will face Columbia and Fordham on Sept. 6 before facing Manhattan on Sept. 7.

For the latest news on the Syracuse volleyball program, follow /CuseVB on Facebook, @CuseVB on Instagram, and @CuseVB on X/Twitter.