Syracuse falls to ACC leader Louisville, drops 2nd straight 3-0 loss
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After a powerful spike from Louisville, the ball ricocheted off of Syracuse’s front line and headed out of bounds through the back of the court. But Syracuse libero Lauren Hogan tracked the ball and launched it behind her back, which was enough for the Orange to get it back on the Cardinals’ side. Louisville responded with another textbook setup and a huge spike for a kill, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the game.
Syracuse (14-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) failed to hand conference leader Louisville (16-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast) its first loss of the season, losing to the Cardinals 3-0. SU recorded 28 total errors throughout the course of the game, including 12 in the first set. The Cardinals have now beaten their last seven opponents in three-set sweeps. This is the Orange’s second-straight loss in the ACC after falling to Notre Dame on Friday in straight sets as well.
The Orange jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first set, as outside hitter Polina Shemanova recorded four out of six kills from that period. But Louisville came surging back to tie the set at 19-19. After that, the teams battled back and forth, and neither took more than a three-point lead for the rest of the set. Unfortunately for the Orange, outside hitter Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk’s seven attack errors, including three straight at the end of the game. Syracuse lost the set 26-24.
The Cardinals started the second set out 10-4 as Syracuse had four service errors and nine attack errors. Then the Orange’s hitters got in a groove and Marina Markova, Shemanova and Lokhmanhcuk strung together eight kills. The set stayed close until the conclusion, but errors again made Syracuse lag behind. The Orange had seven in the last 19 plays of the second set, as Shemanova hit one ball just barely too far to the right and out of bounds to close it out 26-24 Louisville.
The third set was the worst start of the match from the Orange, as Louisville ran away with a 7-1 lead and never looked back. This time, however, the Cardinals’ avalanche of kills was more costly than Syracuse’s mishaps. Louisville put up 13 kills in the third set, neutralizing Hogan’s seven digs in the set. Syracuse stayed within seven points for the entire set, but Louisville kept responding and won 25-18 to end the day.
Syracuse finished with more kills than Louisville in the game, recording 39 compared to Louisville’s 36. But the Orange had a .101 hitting percentage due to the multitude of attack errors. The Orange, with 28 errors, actually doubled the Cardinals in that category. The bright spots were Hogan’s valiant defensive performance and a typical 17 kills from Shemanova. Also, setter Elena Karakasi fed her hitters for 30 assists.
The loss puts Syracuse at .500 in the ACC, but the team looks forward to four straight in-conference home matchups, starting with North Carolina State on October 15th.
