Late rally in 1st set propels Orange to win over Cornell
The underdog was threatening to make some noise. Syracuse was trailing, 15-12, and the players had no rhythm, continually hitting the ball out of bounds without an answer to the constant hard hits of Cornell. After struggling for the majority of the first set, senior outside hitter Kacie MacTavish broke a 19-19 tie with a strong winner, causing Cornell to call a timeout. It was a definite turning point in the match, as the energy shifted to the SU bench.
Coming off of a difficult showing in Dallas this past weekend, the Syracuse volleyball team (10-4) came back strong and defeated Cornell (2-8), 3-0, on Wednesday night at Manley Field House.
‘The last five points of the first set really helped us get momentum, and that momentum carried on to the second and third set,’ senior middle blocker Sarah Morton said.
After Morton converted one of her seven kills to give Syracuse a 22-20 lead, the Orange never looked back. Following a 25-20 win in the first set, the margin of defeat continued to grow as Syracuse won the second set, 25-15, and dominated the third set, winning, 25-12.
Cornell’s ability to make diving plays and dig the ball kept it in the game in the beginning, but as the game progressed the Syracuse height advantage was just too much for the Big Red to overcome. Syracuse was overpowering at the net, producing 38 kills to Cornell’s 27, and 14 total team blocks to Cornell’s two. Though Syracuse was in a hole early in the game, it was never too worried.
‘I think we were pretty confident the whole match,’ junior middle blocker Hayley Todd said. ‘We were just making a lot of unforced errors.’
Todd was very effective, supplying 10 kills to compliment Morton’s seven. Senior defensive specialist Shanetha McLaurin kept the Big Red in check with 13 digs, and freshman setter Laura Homann had 31 assists.
Sophomore outside hitter Noemie Lefebvre added eight kills and seven digs. Freshman middle blocker Samantha Hinz and sophomore middle blocker Erin Little had four and three kills of their own, respectively.
‘You’re always nervous when you’re behind,’ Morton said. ‘But I think we did a good job of pulling together and some new players stepped up.’
This game concludes Syracuse’s non-conference schedule, and as the Orange gears up for Big East play, assistant coach Carol LaMarche admitted that SU is still feeling its way, experimenting with formations and lineups to see what works and what doesn’t.
‘We’re still testing our lineup a little bit,’ LaMarche said. ‘We started off in the first set running a 6-2, which means that we have two setters in there, which we hadn’t done yet. It kind of threw us off, but it shouldn’t have thrown us off as much as it showed in our play.
‘Hayley Todd stepped into the outside and she only first did that this past weekend so it’s really new to her. It shows that we have a little more depth, so hopefully that is a good confidence booster after the weekend that we had.’
Based on this effort, LaMarche is happy with how the team is progressing, but knows that the team has a lot to work on as it begins its Big East schedule this weekend on the road against West Virginia and Pittsburgh.
‘We still have room to improve,’ LaMarche added. ‘I think we’re going to mentally step it up for Big East competition. It’s not an easy weekend. Pitt should be a Top 25 team this year, and West Virginia has some good wins. It will be a good challenge and a good determiner of how the season is going to go.’
Morton, in her final year as a member of the Orange, certainly seems poised to take on the challenge that lies ahead. When asked whether or not Syracuse is ready to take on the Big East, the captain had a look of determination in her eyes.
‘We have had some tough losses but I feel like we’ve learned from those losses,’ Morton said. ‘I think we’ll be ready to go this weekend.’
