Syracuse dominates Virginia Tech in 4-set road win
After a four set win against Boston College on Wednesday, SU head coach Leonid Yelin was unsure of how his team was going to rebound with only two days of rest. Friday’s match in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech was the fourth in a week for the Orange.
“The schedule is crazy,” he said. “It’s going to be tough to go through Friday and I don’t know what’s going to happen because we’re extremely tired. Mentally, physically, school all those kind of things, we’re extremely tired.”
On Friday night, the Orange barely showed any signs of fatigue. Outside of the second set, Syracuse (15-7, 11-3 Atlantic Coast) dominated Virginia Tech (13-12, 4-9) in a four-set victory, 25-16, 23-25, 25-20, 25-10.
In the first set, Virginia Tech could not evade the Orange middle blockers. Even as the Hokies used slide hits to try and target freshman Polina Shemanova on the left side, senior Amber Witherspoon dominated the net. She tallied five blocks in the first set, including a string of three blocks in four points. Syracuse trailed by two points early but took the first set 25-16.
Virginia tech senior Jaila Tolbert and the other Hokie outside hitters started to find their mark in the second. Tolbert fired countless spikes at Shemanova, forcing the freshman to move away from her natural position. With the score tied at 23, Tolbert attacked Shemanova once again. Shemanova jumped straight into the air, but her block attempt fell into the net. Virginia tech won the next point and the second set.
Late in the third set, Yelin called a timeout. Syracuse had seen its lead drop to 23-19. The Orange responded well. It split the next two points with the Hokies, but sophomore Ella Saada fired a kill down the right side line to win the third set.
Syracuse cruised in the clinching fourth set. Ahead by eight points, 17-9, Shemanova fired a kill down the middle. Syracuse won 7 of the next eight points and the clinching fourth set.
On Wednesday, Yelin knew a win Friday was important. After the Hokies, Syracuse has 12 days to rest before it is back in action against Georgia Tech on Sunday, Nov. 11.
