Syracuse Volleyball ends the weekend with a straight-sets loss against Clemson
By Josh Solomon | @JoshSolo29
After another straight sets loss to a ranked opponent in number 15 Georgia Tech on Friday, Syracuse was looking to turn it around ending the weekend against a team that also struggled in ACC play, Clemson. The Tigers coming into today’s match just had one win in conference play and an overall record of 9-17.
Both Syracuse and Clemson began the first set trading points before the Tigers extended their lead. Clemson senior Aźyah Dailey dominated against SU’s blockers in the front row. The pin attacker recorded five kills in the first set including two in a row establishing Clemson’s lead early, 9-5. Past that point, the Tigers had a full head of steam to the finish line scoring seven of the final 10 points and taking the first set 25-14.
The second set once again started even with both teams successfully recording kills for their squads. This was until a very impressive Clemson run in the middle of the set. Before the run, the Orange and the Tigers were knotted up at nines. But, Clemson went all out with its attack in the middle half of the set. The run came right after a Syracuse timeout taken by head coach Bakeer Ganeshartnam as his team was down by three, 14-17. After the stoppage, the Tigers scored eight points in a row and took the second set as they did the first 25-14.
Down to their last hope, the Orange kicked it into gear in the third set. SU outside hitter Ava Palm notched eight kills in the set to do her best to help the squad. Syracuse had a lead about halfway through the set as it was 14-11. But after that point, Clemson closed the gap and the score was tied four times. 15-15, 18-18, 19-19, 20-20, which team would pull away? Even though Syracuse scored three of the last five points in the set, Clemson finished things off with a 25-23 third-set victory securing a straight-sets win.
This loss for Syracuse puts the team at an overall .500 record at 14-14. This comes after SU started the season undefeated in nonconference play, 12-0. The Orange are 2-8 on the road this year and fall to 2-14 against ACC teams. SU only has four games left in the season and two of those are against Boston College. The first is on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Women’s Building. BC is 12-15 on the year with a 5-10 record in ACC play.
