After two service errors, two attack errors and a whiff from Santita Ebangwese in the opening 20 points against Virginia, Syracuse seemed uninspired.

But by the middle of the second set, SU was rolling. After trailing 4-1 early in the second set, the team reeled off 13 of 16 points and the Orange peeled away from the Hokies en route to Syracuse’s second consecutive straight-set conference win.

While the performance may not have been consistent, Syracuse (16-8, 8-3 Atlantic Coast) put a sluggish start behind it to defeat Virginia Tech (8-14, 2-9) Friday night in the Women’s Building. The Orange relied on its balanced offense, with Anastasiya Gorelina, Ella Saada, and Ebangwese all registering double-digit kills.

“They came out with intensity and they couldn’t hold up,” Ebangwese said. “We kept playing our game, we closed the gap.”

Gorelina led the team with 14 kills, and the Orange attack became more efficient as the match rolled on. SU compiled a .293 opening-set hitting percentage, with six attack errors and three service errors, a low output for an offense coming off its most efficient performance of the season last Sunday in Clemson. While SU won the set, 25-19, it didn’t do so as comfortably as it would’ve liked.

The Orange turned the tide in a 25-13 win of the second set. The team tallied 17 kills on just three errors and 35 attack attempts for a hitting percentage of .400. Defensively, SU was equally dominant in the second set, as the Orange shut down the Hokies attack. VT had just seven kills, along with seven errors in 37 attack attempts. That’s good for a .000 hitting percentage.

In the third set, the Orange came out of the break between the second and third sets firing, jumping out to a 9-3 lead and never ceding control to win, 25-18. SU tallied 15 kills on 27 attack attempts, a .519 hitting percentage.

Amber Witherspoon took full her recent increased opportunities by adding seven kills on 14 attempts and a team-high six blocks. The Orange is one of the best teams in the conference at blocks, with Ebangwese ranking first in the ACC and 15th in the nation. Witherspoon has added 17 total blocks in three games. But SU head coach Leonid Yelin said his team has room for improvement in both blocking and serving. Despite a team total eight blocks Friday, Syracuse has the potential for much more.

“I don’t think we’re blocking well,” Yelin said. “If we’re ranking high in ACC it doesn’t make me too happy, because I can see how much room we have to improve.”

After six service errors Sunday in Clemson, the Orange took another step back with eight service errors Friday, its most since September 28^th at Duke.

“I know we’re going to miss some serves but as long as we are serving well and taking them out of their system a lot, it’s OK,” Yelin said.

Despite the mistakes in both blocking and serving, Yelin knows winning remains the most important thing in the stretch run of the season.

“Every game is now simple, especially for us,” he said. “We put ourselves in a situation where we have to try to win every game we have now.”

Published on October 27, 2017 at 11:02 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo