Syracuse Volleyball wins in straight sets 3-0 defeating Siena College
Loudonville, N.Y. – To begin the first set, Syracuse was down 11 to 1 to Siena College. The Orange couldn’t seem to find any connection. However, after a deep breath during a timeout call by SU head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam, the comeback began. The ‘Cuse first push came about halfway through the first set scoring four in a row and making the score 13-9 Siena. Then, to end the first set, Syracuse scored 10 of the final 13 points. SU even forced a win by two scenario, taking the first set 26-24.
After that point, the Orange continued their momentum into the second set. Although Siena and Syracuse traded points throughout, it was a four-point swing for the ‘Cuse extending its lead to five points going up 21 to 16. Even with a little push from the Saints, it wasn’t enough to stop the Orange from taking the second set, 25-22. During that set, SU doubled Siena’s kills 20 to 10. A leader in that department was redshirt freshman Skylar George. The outside hitter ended the contest with 19 kills. George with that mark sets a season-high and has been making her mark on the squad following a 12 kills on average performance last weekend in the Big Apple tournament.
In the third set, it was another late run for SU that capped off the game. Syracuse (7-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) took six of the final eight points leading to a 25-17 third-set victory and a 3-0 straight-sets win over Siena (1-6, 0-0 MAAC). Orange junior Anastasiia Nikolnikova and graduate student Ava Palm took over in the set. Nikolnikova finished with seven kills, two digs, and an ace. The middle blocker took care of business with a final kill for Syracuse (7-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) defeating in straight sets 3-0 Meanwhile, Palm had nine kills and two digs.
In addition, sophomore Veronica Sierzant did her part racking up 28 assists. Also, sophomore libero Greta Schlicter had a season-high 13 digs continuing many SU attempts on the offensive side.
Syracuse remains undefeated after the first contest in the Siena Saints Invitational. Overall, four of the seven wins for SU this season have come in straight sets. The ‘Cuse return to play tomorrow at 2:30 against its first opponent this season, NJIT. In that opening game, it was as expected, a straight-sets Orange victory.
