Syracuse gets 1st win of season, drops Kansas in straight sets

Syracuse (1-4) secured its first win of the 2019 season with a straight-set win over Kansas (4-4) in the Kansas Invitational. The Orange, whose 0-4 start marks their worst since 2016, dominated the Jayhawks with nine aces and nine blocks. Syracuse also tallied 11 more kills than Kansas.

In the first set, sophomore setter Elena Karakasi assisted on four of nine points, as the Orange jumped to a 9-5 lead to start the set. But two attacking errors from freshman Marina Markova and a shaky set from Karakasi allowed Kansas to score four unanswered points to take a 17-13 lead.

A pair of service aces from sophomore Polina Shemanova and Markova would close the gap with Kansas, tying the set at 18. Kansas would record two kills to snag a two-point advantage, but a timeout from SU head coach Leonid Yelin would calm his team down. Coming out of the time out, Syracuse rattled off six unanswered points to win the first set, 25-21.    

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Errors hindered the second set for the Orange, again, but a Markova service ace gave Syracuse a 16-12 point advantage. Then, two Kansas kills, followed by an attacking error from Karakasi, tied the score at 18. The set would continue to go back-and-forth, as Syracuse relied on Shemanova to close out the set. With the scored tied at 29, Shemanova stepped up with two kills to end the set at 31-29. 

Syracuse dominated the third set, as more sharp play from Shemanova and Markova pushed the Orange to an early eight-point lead. Syracuse wouldn’t look back, as they avoided sloppy play to take the third and final set by 13 points. 

After struggling in her first four starts, Karakasi shined in the win, posting a career-high 34 assists while recording just four errors. Markova also had 19 kills in the victory.

Syracuse will continue its nine-game road trip with a match against Northeastern on Friday.