Syracuse’s Polina Shemanova, Marina Markova earn AVCA regional honors

Every dollar donated during December will go directly toward paying students to produce stories like this one. Give now and ensure a brighter future for The Daily Orange.

Syracuse outside hitters Polina Shemanova and Marina Markova earned American Volleyball Coaches Association honors, as both were named to the East All-Region team that consists of 10 Atlantic Coast Conference players. The teammates, who were in Russia last spring because of visa complications, sparked an SU attack that struggled in their absence.

Markova led the ACC in kills and ranked 12th nationally with 492, averaging 4.51 per set. She also recorded a .309 hitting percentage this season. Markova earned two ACC Player of the Week honors throughout the season. She was named the most valuable player at Syracuse’s sweep of the Yale Invitational and notched a career-high 33 kills in a five-set defeat to Florida State in October. The 33 kills are the third-highest single-game total in program history. Recently, Markova was named to the All-ACC First Team.

Shemanova averaged 3.86 kills per set, notching 421 on the year — the fourth-highest total in the ACC. She tied for fourth in aces in the conference with 36, occasionally using a top-spin style serve that gave defenses difficulties. In the Orange’s sweep at the Hail State Invitational at Mississippi State, Shemanova earned most valuable player honors. She was named to the All-ACC Second Team, her third All-ACC team honor in her career.

This is Shemanova’s fifth AVCA honor after being an AVCA All-American honorable mention in 2018, the 2018 AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year and a member of the 2018 and 2019 AVCA All-East Region Teams.

“We have those big, powerful hitters that I think we may have been lacking last year,” middle blocker Abby Casiano said early in the season after Shemanova and Markova returned.