After humbling loss to South Florida, Syracuse volleyball looks to get on track versus Villanova
The Syracuse volleyball team’s first loss to South Florida last weekend wasn’t the end of the world. The team came home this week, beat Binghamton and finds itself with an 18-1 record. But still, for middle blocker Samantha Hinz, looking back at last weekend hurts.
‘It was obviously disappointing,’ Hinz said. ‘No one wants to lose. We just weren’t really clicking. Teamwork was a little bit of an issue. We had a lot of personal errors. I feel like we could have done a lot better.’
But SU didn’t, and the result was a 3-2 loss to USF. Suddenly, the team with the record start looked vulnerable. And as the team prepares to travel to face Villanova on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the third game of Big East play, it is left piecing together what happened in its last conference game.
Against USF, everything came to a halt for the Orange. SU’s program-best record to start a season, 17 wins and zero losses, was over. But most troubling of all, the Orange’s fundamentals unraveled.
‘Setting was off, we weren’t killing the ball, and we couldn’t dig,’ assistant coach Carol LaMarche said. ‘It was like a roller coaster ride. We lost the first set 25-22. Then we won the second set. Then boom we dropped in the third. Then we won the fourth. ‘
LaMarche’s voice changed as she discussed the fifth and final set.
‘Then we dropped the fifth … bad,’ LaMarche said, her voice fading.
So against Villanova, the Orange must start back at square one. Back to the basics, even if the team is 18-1. Because in Big East play, the team is just 1-1.
Going into the Villanova game, the team will still be adjusting to the lineup changes it’s had to deal with the past three games.
Against Georgetown last Friday, Ashley Williams, the team’s libero, was out. SU managed to win that match 3-1, but against USF Lindsay McCabe, another starter, played just two sets.
And missing two starters against the Bulls proved to be too much for the Orange to overcome. Nothing seemed to go right in Tampa. Not even the simplest of tasks.
‘There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have been consistent (against USF),’ LaMarche said. ‘Everyone that was playing has been playing or has played and is capable of getting the job done.
‘It’s just like a domino effect. One person has a bad serve then the next person served it out. One person had a bad hit then the next person couldn’t kill the ball. It was frustrating and I think they panicked a little bit, because we hadn’t been in that position before. Hopefully we put it behind us and kind of settle down.’
If the team hopes to beat Villanova, then it will have to resemble the team that started the season 17-0, not the one that fell apart against USF.
When the team faces the Wildcats, it will be playing its second match with the new lineup changes. But they will have to get used to the new lineup quickly, something that won’t be easy against a Big East opponent.
‘Villanova is definitely a strong team, and we have to come out in full force, get back into things, and find a way that we can click together again and really get ready for our third Big East game,’ outside hitter Erin Little said.
That is the best option for the Orange right now. SU must focus on Villanova and feel confident about its win against Binghamton on Wednesday. The Orange can’t dwell on the past.
Yes, their unblemished record is long gone. But there is no time to think about that. All eyes must be focused on conference play now.
‘I think everyone wants to move on from (the USF game),’ LaMarche said. ‘It’s good to know we’re vulnerable and we can’t just play any way we want to play, any way we feel like, and win. And the Big East does not let you do that. The stress of being undefeated is gone. But it’s replaced by the stress of Big East games.’
