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Outside hitter Marina Markova dug a North Carolina ball toward setter Elena Karakasi, who set up Markova with a kill attempt on the left side. Markova rose up and spiked the ball right in the center of the Tar Heels’ court, where it went untouched. She walked away grinning as she tied the game at 16 in the third set. The point prior, Markova recorded another kill from the left side.

Marina Markova recorded 14 kills in Syracuse’s (14-6, 3-5 Atlantic Coast) three-set defeat to North Carolina (15-4, 4-4 ACC), which marks SU’s fourth straight loss. The Orange have been outscored 12-1 in sets throughout those defeats, falling to the Tar Heels for the third straight year. Markova recorded her kills on 32 total attempts and had a .281 hitting percentage.

In the first set, Markova had multiple kills including one from distance at the end of a long rally between both sides. She jumped up and launched the kill from behind the attack line, too strong for the Tar Heels. The Orange went up 11-7 in the middle of the first set and two points later, Markova scored another kill from the left side. Then she replicated that again, scoring two points later.

With the set tied at 16-16, Markova strategically tipped the ball just over a North Carolina blocker instead of attempting a powerful strike. The Tar Heels were slow to react as the ball landed just in front of multiple defenders. Toward the end of the set, North Carolina went on a 3-0 run which created just enough separation on the scoreboard to stop the Orange from coming back in the set.

On the first point of the second set, Markova recorded another kill. The Tar Heels couldn’t handle the spike as it was dug far and behind to where a diving defensive specialist like Olivia Diaz couldn’t save it. Syracuse jumped out a 2-0 lead, but that would be the largest and only lead the Orange held in the set. North Carolina’s lead grew to as much as seven, although SU tied the game later at 21-21. But Markova and the rest of the team couldn’t stop the Tar Heels from a 4-0 run to end the set.

Defensively, Markova made some strong defensive plays as well. Early in the second set, North Carolina attempted to spike the ball through the block of Abby Casiano and Markova. Instead, the pair blocked the attempt sending the ball directly behind the furthest defender. Markova finished with five blocks.

Occasionally in the second set, Markova’s spikes were too strong for the Tar Heels’ blockers to defend. Some spikes that were blocked still landed on North Carolina’s side or went out of bounds.

Trailing by two sets, SU and North Carolina went back and forth for most of the third set. As the Tar Heels led 15-14, Markova recorded another kill as it looked like the Tar Heels’ block deflected the ball going out of bounds.

But the original call was reversed, giving the point to North Carolina. Syracuse head coach Leonid Yelin expressed frustration with the first referee overturning his original call, and he continued to yell at the official during a timeout a few points after the call. But North Carolina ended the match with a 3-0 run, earning its fourth straight win.

“Emotional stability is as important as physical (stability),” Markova said postgame. “Of course, it’s really tiring to [keep] pushing and pushing the whole game.”

Published on October 17, 2021 at 6:21 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini