MATCH STATS
- Syracuse def. Duke 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17)
- Syrcause moves to 10-6, 2-1 ACC; Duke falls to 10-4, 2-1 ACC
- Durham, North Carolina
- Attendance: 798
- Box Score
DURHAM, N.C. – Syrcause picked up its first road win of the Big East season with a four-set victory at Duke on Thursday night.
The Orange hit at a .307 clip, while holding the Blue Devils to a .107 effort with help from 14 blocks. Syracuse topped Duke 14-2 in blocks and 4-1 in aces.
Junior outside hitter Anastasiya Gorelina and freshman outside Ella Saada notched 15 kills apiece to pace the Orange. Junior middle blocker Santita Ebangwese (10) and senior middle Amber Witherspoon (9) followed. Gorelina rounded out a double-double with 10 digs and two aces, while Witherspoon hit at a team-leading .412 clip. Ebangwese put up a team-best 10 blocks, while senior libero Belle Sand pulled up a team-high 25 digs. Junior setter Jalissa Trotter added 11 digs to go with 43 assists.
Freshman outside Payton Schwantz and senior outside Cadie Bates led the Duke effort with 13 and 12 kills apiece. Sophomore outside Samantha Amos followed with nine putaways. Senior libero Nicole Elattrache registered a team-best 20 digs, while Bates followed with 16 to round out a double-double.
Syracuse took an early 7-3 lead with help from two kills each by Golenia and Saada. A kill and an ace by Trotter lifted the margin to five at 10-5. Duke cut the margin to two at 16-14 with kills by Bates, Anna Kropf and Amos. The Orange called timeout and scored eight of the next 10 to push ahead 24-16. Five Blue Devils errors aided the rally. Ebangwese wrapped up the set at 25-17.
‘Cuse jumped out to a 5-1 lead in Set 2, including a trio of blocks, with Ebangwese and Christina Oyawale each notching a solo effort and the duo combining on the third stuff. Down 7-3, Duke chipped away, finally pulling even at 10, including four Orange miscues. After ties at 11, 12, 14 and 15, Syracuse broke away with a 9-1 run, tallying four stuffs, three by Ebangwese, and kills by four different players. Facing set point at 24-16, the Blue Devils got a kill from Schwantz and help from a Syracuse miscue to stay alive in the stanza. Saada finally closed the door at 25-18.
Syracuse raced ahead by seven in Set 3 at 13-6. Three blocks, three Goelina kills and two Duke errors led the way in the scoring run. The Blue Devils mounted a comeback, using a 9-3 run to slice the 15-8 margin to one at 18-17. Three errors coupled with two Schwantz putaways put Duke back in the game. Two miscues and a block by Summer Brown and Natalie Schilling brought things to a 20-all tie. A kill and a block by Amos aided an 4-0 run, which gave the Blue Devils a 24-21 lead. A Bates kill two serves later clinched the 25-22 win.
The Orange bounced back by cruising to a 10-2 lead in Set 4. Three Saada kills, two Ebangwese blocks and four Duke miscues gave Syracuse the eight-point lead. ‘Cuse poured on eight more points to move the margin to 12 at 18-6 on three straight kills by Saada. The Blue Devils scored five of the next six points to narrow the gap to eight at 19-11, but could not break through. The teams split the final 12 points en route to the 25-17 win and the match.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Syracuse Athletics
The Syracuse women’s volleyball team surged past Duke in four sets (25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17) Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in an ACC matchup. The ‘Cuse (10-6, 2-1 ACC) victory is its second straight on the road over Duke (10-4, 2-1).
Anastasiya Gorelina and Ella Saada each contributed a match-high 15 kills for the Orange. Santita Ebangweseadded 10 kills with 10 blocks, Jalissa Trotter dished out 43 assists and Belle Sand recorded 25 digs.
How It Was Decided
Syracuse broke open a 3-3 first set with an 8-4 run. The Orange controlled the remainder of the set and won, 25-17, on an Ebangwese kill.
‘Cuse continued to roll in set number two. With the score tied at 14, Syracuse closed the set on an 11-4 scoring run to win, 25-18.
After dropping the third set 25-22, ‘Cuse came out hot in the fourth set. The Orange took a commanding 18-6 lead and managed its way to a 25-17 victory.
Coach’s Thoughts
“The girls did a great job at executing the game plan tonight,” said head coach Leonid Yelin. “After dropping the third set, we showed a lot of composure to finish off the match in the fourth in front of a big Duke crowd.”
Of Note
With 25 digs on the evening, Sand moves up to fifth in program history with 1,285 career digs.
What’s Next?
Syracuse returns to action Sunday afternoon at Wake Forest in an ACC matchup at 1 p.m.
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