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Syracuse (11-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) earned its 11th straight win, outlasting Iowa State (6-5, 0-0 Big 12) in five sets. For the first time all season, the Orange had a match go past past the fourth set. Iowa State had previously beaten Wake Forest and presented the most difficult match yet for the Orange.

“Coming into this match, we knew Iowa State is going to be a really, really exciting matchup for us,” Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. “I thought our players did a phenomenal job and followed the match plan and then executed it consistently at a really high level, which really allowed us to get this ‘W’ today.”

In the first set, Syracuse kept Iowa State at arm’s length due to solid play from Anastasiia Nikolnikova and Sydney Moore, both of whom commanded the middle of the floor with blocks and kills. The Cyclones battled back, taking a 24-23 lead. Though a 3-0 run with another kill from Nikolnikova paired with two Iowa State errors won the first set for Syracuse 26-24. It was the second set of the year Syracuse won with a tiebreaker.

Syracuse started the second set off strong with a 10-7 lead. After an Iowa State timeout, the Cyclones took off on offense, going on a 15-11 run, winning the set 25-18. Maya Duckworth was pivotal for the Cyclones with 11 kills.

The third set was won by Syracuse, who even with Ava Palm being kept quiet, was still able to control the pace. Iowa State had good control around the net during the third set, but it didn’t matter.

“They had more kills than us, had more digs than us, had more blocks than us and had more total points. But we won. We just beat them with our heart,” Palm said.

The fourth set was commanded by Iowa State, who jumped out to a 17-8 lead. Even though Iowa State won the set convincingly, Syracuse sparked some energy, going on a 4-0 run. The points didn’t mean much, but they gave SU some momentum heading into the fifth and final set.

“I thought for us, we wanted to finish that fourth set in a good rhythm,” Ganesharatnam said. “We wanted to really get that rhythm established so we could carry that over into that fifth set.”

Syracuse carried that rhythm into the fifth set. After both teams traded errors, Syracuse took an 8-6 lead before the side change following one of Ava Palm’s 16 kills. Emma Ortiz had three good serves, with one registering as an ace and two more putting the Cyclones off balance. Two kills from Nikolnikova assisted by Veronica Sierzant finally killed off the Cyclones as the Orange won the final set 15-10. Sierzant, who hadn’t seen the floor for the past couple games, was deployed in the middle of the fourth set, replacing Mira Ledermueller.

“I thought Mira did a really good job running the offense for us and really playing good defense as well, but I felt like in that fourth set, we needed to change something,” Ganesharatnam said. “We were a little flat, and (Sierzant) has been training really well all week, and she’s been warming up for over a set, and we felt like she could come in and give us a little bit of a spark in that moment.”

For the clinching points of sets one and five, Ashlee Gnau, a freshman defensive specialist, shared the floor with Ortiz, a libero. Gnau has been getting more playing time this weekend, and put together her strongest performance yet. The defense-oriented strategy paid off for Ganesharatnam, as his team had five players record double-digit digs. Greta Schlichter led the team with 12.

“I think it gives everyone confidence to play next to a player like (Gnau),” Schlichter said. “I think it’s just good to have everyone involved in that defense, and it’s in the end not just up to the defensive specialists or liberos.”

Published on September 21, 2024 at 6:05 pm

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