After falling in opening set, Syracuse rips off 3 straight sets en route to win

Syracuse (19-12, 11-7 Atlantic Coast) picked up its second win in three days with a 3-1 victory over Duke (17-12, 9-9) Sunday afternoon at the Women’s Building. After dropping the first set 25-20, the Orange rallied to win the next three sets to take the match. This win completes SU’s two-game sweep of Duke after the Orange won in four sets in Durham back on Sept. 28.

Four main attackers carried SU, as Santita Ebangwese, Amber Witherspoon, Ella Saada and Kendra Lukacs all registered double-digit kills. Saada led the Orange attack with 13 kills, while Ebangwese and Witherspoon both tallied 12. Lukacs continued her recent strong play since returning from injury with 12 kills and just one attack error.

With the first set level at 15, the Blue Devils reeled off nine of 12 points, opening up a 24-18 lead. The Orange struggled with attack errors in the opening set, with four coming during the Blue Devils’ late set run. Duke took the opening set 25-20.

Leading 8-7 in the second set, the Orange scored six of the next seven points, with Saada adding two kills and an ace in the run. Duke rallied to close the gap to three points, 20-17, but the Orange pulled away late in the set, winning 25-19.

The third set remained close for the entirety of the set, with neither team leading by more than two at any point. There were 16 ties in the set, and despite SU’s recent struggles in close sets, the Orange was able to win three of the final four points in the set to take a 2-1 lead. Jalissa Trotter ended the set emphatically with a kill to give SU a set point and an ace to close it out. Trotter tallied her second-most assists of the season with 45.

In the final set, the Orange used the momentum shift at the end of the third to come out flying. SU took an early 8-4 lead and never looked back, with Witherspoon tallying three consecutive kills. The Orange used a 16-8 run to open up the game, 21-13, a deficit which was too great for the Blue Devils to overcome. Duke won five of six points to claw back into the set, but it was too late as SU held on for a 25-21 win in the final set.

After two consecutive wins, Syracuse will host Notre Dame on Wednesday in the Women’s Building at 7 p.m.