Sophomore Silvi Uattara, Syracuse’s (1-5) second-leading point-scorer, had to deal with something she is not used to this past weekend: sitting on the sidelines.

In the match against Rutgers on Friday night, Uattara, who hails from Voronezh, Russian Federation, did not start for the first time all season. Instead, she split significant time with senior Samantha Clarey. On Saturday night against Colorado, she never made it onto the court.

“In a meeting before the game, Coach (Leonid Yelin) said we have to try something new, we have to give opportunity to other players, too,” Uattara said. “I was really upset, of course, but I understood if it’s coach’s decision. It’s a lock. And I could not go and say for him it’s not right or something.”

A few days later, Uattara said she thinks she understands why Yelin did what he did, but was unwilling to comment on that reason.

“It’s private. I do not want to say,” Uattara said. “I don’t know, it’s my opinion and coach has the same opinion, probably, so I’m not going to say.”

Yelin said he tried to explain to Uattara that the decision to sit her on Saturday night was not a punishment, but more of a chance to reflect on what she has been failing to do right and give some of the younger players more time.

In Yelin’s opinion, her struggles are mental. He felt the night off would give her a chance to step back and see where she had not been executing.

“If you’re not performing … it’s here,” Yelin said, pointing to his head. “I said ‘Sil, as much as can be helped, I’m trying to help you. The key word is help. I cannot do this for you.’”

The decision to rotate between Uattara and Clarey on Friday night, Yelin said, was due to statistics that showed Uattara was playing strong on the front row, but her numbers were not as impressive when she played in the back row.

Yelin thought Clarey, who has spent most of her career as a hitter, would do a better job rotating in on the back row. And she did, eventually serving out the last five points of the fifth set against Rutgers on Friday night to lead the team to a victory. Uattara, meanwhile, sat on the bench.

“She asked why I’m not playing her in the back row,” Yelin said. “I said these are the numbers why. This is the numbers when you play on the back row. These are the numbers when Clarey is playing on the back row.”

After having reduced or no playing time in two of the weekend’s four matches, the question becomes how Uattara will handle this benching as the team heads into a home weekend series against three teams that have one win combined.

Nicolette Serratore said Uattara has been a more determined player at practice since her benching this past weekend.

“In the past two days, she has really learnt a lot and she is really focused on what he (Yelin) is asking from her,” Serratore said, “so I think that she will be ready to play.”

Uattara said the benching is the source of her hard play in practice during the week, but it has also motivated her to show her coach she has changed as a player.

“I’m still practicing hard, because I know that I am going to play for sure,” Uattara said. “I’m just trying to do my best and to show for coach that I am much better. Maybe it’s one of the reasons why he put me on the bench, maybe he wants me to play better.”

Published on September 11, 2013 at 2:46 am

Contact Ryan: rlraigro@syr.edu