Syracuse off to best start since 2010 after convincing win over Hartford

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Elena Karakasi set the ball to Abby Casiano, who leapt up and spiked it over to the Hartford side of the net. Hartford controlled the spike and sent it back over the net into the forearms of Riley Hoffman. Hoffman bumped it to Karakasi, and this time, instead of setting Casiano, she faked out the Hartford front line and found a gap to send the ball, earning the kill. 

Karakasi totaled 22 assists in the sweep over Hartford (1-5) to help Syracuse (6-0) finish the weekend 3-0 without dropping a single set. The Orange beat Quinnipiac and Yale on Friday. 

Syracuse went on a 10-0 run to start the game before Hartford’s Valerie Diede notched a kill. Abby Casiano recorded multiple kills and blocks early in the match. Syracuse finished the first set 25-15 after a combined block from Izzy Plummer and Naomi Franco.

The Orange dominated the second set 25-12. Casiano was again active upfront and Karakasi assisted on multiple kills. Freshman Peyton O’Brien also notched three assists on three of Syracuse’s final four kills before it won the set. The two SU setters were a main reason why Syracuse totaled eight more assists than Hartford.

In the third and final set, Syracuse was able to capitalize off of Hartford’s 13 attack errors, and the front line totaled 11 blocks, getting three straight blocks at one point late in the set. To end the game, two Syracuse players, Casiano and Diana Akopova, jumped up and blocked a Hartford kill attempt. Marina Markova finished with a team-leading 14 kills and Polina Shemanova finished with nine.

Syracuse is now off to its best start since 2010, when it won 17 straight games to open the season.