It was the final game of the Big Orange Tournament and the Syracuse volleyball team was trailing Sacramento State, two sets to one. The Orange was on the verge of dropping its first match this season, but there were no signs of panic.

Senior captains Kacie MacTavish and Sarah Morton gave out words of encouragement, and the team was ready to go. The pair had experienced situations like this before and they knew how to handle it.

The SU coaches tweaked the rotation to give the 6-foot-1 Morton more opportunities at the net. She responded with a dominating performance, piling up kills and frustrating the Hornets with repeated blocks, leading the Orange to a win in the fourth set.

In the final set, MacTavish came alive with a string of kills and a few impressive one-armed digs. The Orange won the set, 15-9, completing the come-from-behind victory to hand Syracuse the tournament championship.

This is not a new thing for the Orange volleyball team; MacTavish and Morton have been doing this for the past three seasons. Their styles of play and leadership differ, but the stars combine to make the Orange a formidable opponent. Both players were selected to the preseason All-Big East team by the conference head coaches.

‘They are amazing hitters,’ freshman setter Laura Homann said. ‘I could not ask for anything better. It’s great to know that you can set them, and they’ll just put the ball away.’

Assistant coach Carol LaMarche downplayed the importance of the preseason All-Big East honors, but said both players are worthy of the praise.

MacTavish and Morton stand out on the volleyball court for a number of different reasons. On the offensive end, both have incredible power behind their shots. In the Sacramento State game, MacTavish smashed a spike so hard it hit a defenseless Hornet player square in the chest, knocking her back a couple steps.

Morton’s power and height helped her finish second in the Big East last season with a .374 hitting percentage. Morton and MacTavish finished the 2008 season first and second in kills for the Orange, respectively.

‘Sarah is someone we like to set a lot because she doesn’t make many [hitting] errors and can put the ball away,’ MacTavish said about her teammate.

The offensive play of the two seniors is similar, but their differences emerge on the defensive end, and in their leadership. Morton has become a blocking machine, and the team relies on her to help out the other players defensively.

‘It helps us get some more blocks, and it helps us dig behind the blocks,’ LaMarche said about Morton’s talent.

In 2007, the middle blocker set the Syracuse single-season record with 72 solo blocks and then finished second in the Big East in 2008 with 1.38 blocks per set.

MacTavish, on the other hand, has become an asset on the defensive side as an outside hitter with the ability to keep opponents’ shots off the floor. Defensive specialists normally do most of the digging in volleyball, but MacTavish finished in the top-three on the Orange in both 2007 and 2008.

The captains also have very contrasting styles of leadership to motivate their teammates.

Morton’s laid-back style keeps the team relaxed. She dances, high-fives, and hugs her teammates between sets, making sure no player gets too tense.

‘We play better when we are relaxed and obviously you can see it,’ she said. ‘When we’re having fun we play better.’

MacTavish realizes the Orange play better when not uptight, but she leaves a lot of that responsibility to Morton. MacTavish stays focused throughout the matches and keeps her teammates’ minds off mistakes. She talks to the referees if she doesn’t like a call and shows no fear in making her opinion known.

The preseason All-Big East stars may have different styles of play and leadership, but their coaches and teammates understand how important both are to the success of the Orange.

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on August 31, 2009 at 12:00 pm