Syracuse (17-11, 9-6 Atlantic Coast) dropped its third consecutive conference road game, this time in four sets to Florida State (13-10, 7-8) on Friday night in Tallahassee. The Orange fell behind early, falling in the opening two sets, but rallied back in the third set to win, 30-28, saving multiple match points in the process. Though SU pulled closer, the Seminoles stopped the Orange’s momentum, winning the final set, 26-24.

Syracuse had four players register double-digit kills, led by Anastasiya Gorelina with 17. Amber Witherspoon and Santita Ebangwese added 11 while Christina Oyawele finished with 10. Jalissa Trotter tallied a season-high 46 assists in the main setter role. Defensively, the Orange had three players with double-digit digs, as Trotter and Kendra Lukacs had 10 digs, trailing only Belle Sand with 20.

After the Orange jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the opening set, Florida State used an 11-5 run to recapture the lead. With the set then knotted at 15, the Seminoles scored 10 of the next 11 points, taking the first set comfortably, 25-17.

A big Florida State run plagued the Orange again in the second set, as SU saw a 10-8 lead evaporate into a 20-12 deficit. FSU went on to win the second set, 25-19.

The third set appeared to be a repeat of the previous two, with a Seminole run allowing FSU to pull away from Syracuse. However, trailing 21-16 after losing seven of nine points, Syracuse rallied. The Orange ripped off eight of the next 11 points, tying the match at 24 and forcing an extended set. The teams traded points throughout, with the Orange saving four match points, until FSU committed three consecutive attack errors, handing the set to Syracuse.

The momentum had seemed to turn for the Orange, which propelled out of its third-set win to grab an early lead in the fourth set. After a 9-3 run saw the Orange leading 18-12, the match appeared headed towards a decisive fifth set. Florida State strung together another long streak of points, this time scoring eight of 11 to pull within one. A Seminole kill combined with two SU attack errors allowed Florida State to close out the match despite SU coming close to a the set point.