Colgate head coach Ryan Baker knew his team had a problem as it huddled before the second set. He repeatedly told his players to watch No. 6 Noemie Lefebvre for Syracuse.

But it didn’t matter. The Raiders had no answer for Lefebvre. And her Syracuse teammates knew it, too.

‘There was really no stopping her tonight,’ defensive specialist Ashley Williams said. ‘When she’s on, she can dominate.’

Lefebvre carried the Orange to a three-set sweep of Colgate on Wednesday night in front of 121 in the Women’s Building. Syracuse (12-6, 2-1 Big East) had to fight off the Raiders (6-12, 3-1 Patriot League) in each set, winning 26-24 in all three. The Colgate players expertly shot around the vaunted Syracuse blocking game and nearly stole the first set and stayed close in the next two, but Lefebvre’s standout performance was too much for the Raiders to overcome.

Heading into two weekend home games, SU will face tougher competition from conference opponents Villanova (12-5, 4-0) and Georgetown (9-8, 1-3).

Lefebvre delivered when her team needed points the most. Down 15-13 in the first set, the senior snapped a three-point Colgate run with a series of acrobatic hits.

First, Lefebvre leapt and spiked a ball set by freshman Emily Betteridge. When Raiders middle blocker Kaylee Dougherty blocked the spike straight down, Lefebvre dove to dig the ball inches off the ground to save the point.

Three hits later, Betteridge set up Lefebvre for a cross-court spike that no Colgate player could save.

Williams said opponents have their hands full with Lefebvre when she plays that way. And SU assistant coach Kelly Morrisroe said Lefebvre was the key to the team’s victory.

‘Just giving us a little more on the offensive end was huge for us tonight,’ Morrisroe said. ‘We’ve needed that from her.’

For a team that usually struggles to find offensive rhythm, it was a spotty and lackadaisical defensive effort that kept the game close. Morrisroe said the players made it harder on themselves with slow adjustments and defensive slides.

That sloppy defensive play was exemplified by a miscommunication in the first set. Tied at 11, Williams and freshman outside hitter Ying Shen collided while attempting to return a shot by Colgate setter Blaire Safir, and Colgate took the point.

Blocks by Samantha Hinz and Lindsay McCabe at the net in the second set fell out of bounds as well.

‘They tipped a lot of our shots on defense, and they didn’t really have a conventional offense,’ Williams said. ‘We have some work to do on the defensive end.’

But that makes Lefebvre’s night all the more impressive. Her timely kills helped prevent an upset and covered up a rare night of SU defensive lapses.

Even though Lefebvre had 10 digs on the night, McCabe said it was nice to see her focus more on her offensive game.

‘She hasn’t been herself, and we know what she can do on offense,’ McCabe said. ‘She stepped up.’

 Even more impressive is the fact that Lefebvre has been playing multiple positions. She played outside hitter before switching to libero two weekends ago against Niagara and last weekend against St. John’s and Connecticut.

She played a hybrid outside hitter and libero position against Colgate Wednesday night.

Lefebvre, who played libero for the Canadian National B Team, said she hasn’t been affected by the position changes.

‘I’m comfortable with whatever the coaches play me at,’ Lefebvre said.

The position switches could account for Lefebvre’s standout night. Lefebvre said that Colgate saw tape of her at libero and didn’t anticipate her playing outside hitter, a position closer to the net.

Colgate looked confused in the third set trying to defend Lefebvre. She played near Williams, the libero, as Colgate tied the set at 22. On the next serve, though, Lefebvre joined sophomore Samantha Clarey and Hinz at the net. The Raiders players, who singled out Lefebvre before the serve by pointing and shouting to ‘watch No. 6,’ still didn’t have an answer for a spike set up by junior Laura Homann.

SU took a 23-22 lead and went on to win the set and the match.

‘That was huge,’ Morrisroe said. ‘We’ll use her versatility more and create more mismatches as we go forward.’

nctoney@syr.edu

Published on October 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets