Up six in the fourth set against favored Notre Dame, Ashley Williams nodded at her back row before the Irish serve. Fellow Syracuse seniors Noemie Lefebvre and Erin Little nodded back.

All three knew what they were about to accomplish. After an up and down season interrupted by a coaching change and dotted with bad losses, the three seniors helped punch SU’s ticket to Milwaukee for the Big East tournament with an upset win over Notre Dame.

After the game, Williams tried to hold back tears when she thought about how far her senior teammates had come.

‘These girls mean so much to me,’ Williams said. ‘And it means so much that we go out with a shot at the Big East.’

Williams, Little and Lefebvre were given custom-made superhero capes by their teammates before the match. And in the clinching set of a 3-1 victory over Notre Dame on Sunday, they each had their heroic moments that helped clinch a postseason berth. The win capped a weekend sweep for SU, as the Orange defeated DePaul 3-0 on Friday.

Syracuse, up two sets before a third-set loss, looked poised to let Notre Dame back in the match. SU committed several costly hitting errors that could’ve turned momentum in the Irish’s favor.

Two kills by Lefebvre changed all that. Up 13-10, Lefebvre launched a booming spike down the middle of the court, courtesy of a sprawling Williams dig on the back left corner of the court that kept the point alive for SU.

Lefebvre said her connection with Williams showed on that play, and it’ll be something the senior outside hitter will miss when her volleyball career ends.

‘We’re roommates, and we’re in the same major,’ Lefebvre said. ‘We’ve spent so much time together during our time here, and it’s translated with our play.’

Another spike in that watershed fourth set further turned momentum in SU’s favor. Lefebvre leapt to swat a set by Emily Betteridge, and when the play was over, the ball had ricocheted off Notre Dame libero Kathleen Severyn and flew over the scorer’s table on the left side of the court.

Interim head coach Kelly Morrisroe said Lefebvre’s kills have tended to come at critical junctures all season, and that two-kill stretch was no exception.

‘Noemie came up huge for us today and really all year,’ Morrisroe said.

Lefebvre came up clutch again on the very next play, diving forward to dig a spike by Irish middle blocker Hilary Eppink. After another Betteridge set, Little smacked a spike that landed beyond the outstretched arms of Severyn.

With SU up 17-12, Williams kept hard-hit spikes by Notre Dame alive with two consecutive diving digs.

A few hits later, Andrea Fisher slammed home a point-winning spike. And Williams, Lefebvre and Little nodded at one another in the back row before the next serve. For a split second, the three seniors took in the home crowd.

That moment was well deserved. Morrisroe said her three graduating players provided much-needed leadership to a team with a roster comprised of nine freshmen.

‘They don’t need to be vocal,’ Morrisroe said. ‘They lead by example, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.’

But on a day that seemed like their last, Little and her senior teammates know they have one more task ahead: the Big East tournament.

‘It was a good last time,’ Little said. ‘And we’re not done yet.’

Williams couldn’t agree more.

‘If we keep playing this way, the sky’s the limit,’ Williams said. ‘We have the talent to go all the way.’

nctoney@syr.edu

Published on November 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets