Syracuse Volleyball with another victory in straight sets 3-0 against NJIT
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. — Syracuse volleyball began its match against NJIT in a familiar fashion, with both teams trading points throughout the first set. It came down to another win by two opportunity for the Orange and Highlanders. For the ‘Cuse, that’s back-to-back days that the squad has fought for a first-set win 26-24. Even though NJIT kept it close in the set, the Highlanders’ hitting was a mere .050% compared to the Orange .128%. Graduate student Sara Wasiakowska finished the match with 11 kills, four of those in the first set.
The momentum carried into the second set as SU scored seven of the final nine points.The Orange out-killed the Highlanders 17 to 11 and raised their hitting percentage to almost .300 compared to NJIT’s .140. Syracuse ended up taking the second set 25-19.
It was a tough third set for the Orange to close the match. SU was trading points with NJIT up until the middle of the set. That’s when Syracuse went on a run scoring 4 out of 5 points and extending its lead to 17-14. the Highlanders didn’t go down withithout a fight. NJIT senior Ines Varela contributed five kills, two blocks, and an ace to keep her team close. At one point, it was 21-20, but soon after the game was done. Syracuse’s Sydney Moore ended the match with three consecutive kills and a final block securing the win.That was due to SU’s Sydney Moore who racked up three kills in a row before blocking the final ball giving the squad another win. Syracuse (8-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) once again defeated NJIT (2-8, 0-0 American East) in straight sets 3-0. That is now five of SU’s eight wins that have come in straight-set victories. This is also Syracuse’s best start to a season since 2010.
Standouts from this match for the Orange include redshirt freshman Skylar George continues to rise to the education. The outside hitter finished with seven kills, two service aces, and 12 digs. In addition, grad student Ava Palm collected another game with double-digit kills totaling 11. Palm has double-digit kills in seven of the eight games played so far this season.
Next up for SU, is the third and final game in three days at the Siena Invitational. Syracuse takes on Idaho for the first time tomorrow at 4. The Vandals (0-6, 0-0 Big Sky) will have a double header tomorrow playing NJIT at 8 am before matching up against the ‘Cuse.
