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It took Syracuse eight minutes to score a point in Thursday’s match against Siena. The Saints maintained a 10-0 lead at the beginning of the first set before the Orange got on the board off a Siena service error.

Despite the slow start, Syracuse (7-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) bounced back, defeating Siena (1-6, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) 3-0 to remain unbeaten in 2024. It’s the fourth match winning in straight sets for SU.

The Orange trailed for the entire first set until setter Veronica Sierzant and middle blocker Anastasiia Nikolnikova tied the game at 22-22.

Hitter Klara Zarnovicka gave SU its first lead with a kill that brought the score to 25-24. The ball was saved by Sydney Moore who hit the ball to Sierzant. Sierzant then made the assist to Zarnovicka. Less than 40 seconds later Zarnovicka scored again, securing Syracuse its first win of the match, bringing the final score to 26-24.

The second set started a lot better for Syracuse, as it stayed in the lead for the first seven points. Outside hitter Skylar George had an incredible set, scoring 11 kills. After a close end to the set, with the Saints never trailing by more than five points, SU won the set at 25-22. George scored the match point, making that her 14th kill of the game, assisted by Sierzant.

The redshirt freshman didn’t stop there, scoring the first kill of the third and final set. George continued to carry SU offensively, recording four more kills and totaling 19 throughout the match — a new career high.

Nikolnikova ended the set with a kill assisted by Mira Ledermueller. SU finished the third set 25-17, winning the match 3-0 and continuing its perfect record.

This match marked a career best for Zarnovicka, as she recorded 10 kills in 18 total attempts. Prior to the match, she never scored more than five kills in a match.

Sierzant had 28 assists and five digs. She maintained her streak of reaching double digits in assists in a match, recording at least 26 assists per game over the course of the season.

Greta Schlichter had 13 digs, her season best and first time reaching double digits. Overall, the Orange recorded 51 kills while Siena scored 31, and ended the match with a 0.32 hitting percentage to the Saints 0.155.

Published on September 12, 2024 at 10:55 pm

Contact Vivian: vpcollins06@gmail.com