STAFF : Volleyball drops 2 of 3 matches at Blue and White Tournament
Syracuse lost its first two matches to Buffalo and Dayton at the Blue and White Classic before beating Cornell in its final game of the weekend.
SU (9-4) entered the weekend on a three-game winning streak and led the nation in blocks per set. But the tough Orange defense couldn’t contain the host Bulls on Friday, as four Buffalo players finished with double-digit kills. SU lost the match 3-2.
For the Orange, Andrea Fisher and Lindsay McCabe led the offensive attack with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Middle blocker Sam Hinz recorded a match-high 10 blocks to lead the defense.
On Saturday, Syracuse was swept by Dayton in three sets before rebounding to defeat Cornell 3-1.
The Flyers dominated the Orange from the start, taking an 11-5 lead in the first set and cruising to wins in the final two frames. Again, the Syracuse defense struggled to make a difference, as the team recorded just one block in the match. Rachel Krabacher had 17 kills, 14 digs and four aces to lead Dayton’s offense.
The Orange dropped its first set to the Big Red, but quickly got back on track to take the next three sets for the win. The defense proved to be a catalyst in SU’s lone win on the weekend, as the team made 17 blocks against Cornell.
SU opens Big East play this Friday against South Florida at 7 p.m. in the Women’s Building, and then travels to Niagara for a nonconference game at noon on Sunday.
Cross country
The Syracuse men’s and women’s cross country teams remained undefeated this weekend by sweeping the Colgate Invitational in Hamilton, N.Y. Both teams finished first, edging out Cornell, Colgate and several unattached runners.
Senior Lauren Penney and junior Sarah Pagano tied for first place on the women’s side with identical times of 21:00. Syracuse posted five of the top seven times in the race. All five of SU’s top finishers came within 44 seconds of each other.
On the men’s side, senior Pat Dupont beat out Colgate’s Chris Johnson by one second to finish first with a time of 25:18 in the 8,000-meter run. Redshirt freshman Andrew Palmer, SU’s next-best finisher, placed fourth overall with a time of 25:28. Redshirt freshmen Joseph Whelan and Reed Kamyszek also finished in the top 10 for the Orange.
The team now has two weeks off before returning to action Sept. 30 at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa.
