Everyone in Manley Field House had to know who would get the last attack for the Syracuse volleyball team. With the Orange needing one more point to win its match against Villanova, freshman setter Laura Homann did the expected.

She sent a set high, aimed toward senior Sarah Morton. As the team co-captain leaped for the attack, a Wildcat player jumped up for a block.

Morton made a quick adjustment. She tipped the ball over the block to the corner of the court, where it landed just inside the back line.

With Morton’s 13th kill of the night, the Orange (21-10, 9-5 Big East) beat Villanova, 3-0, Friday on Senior Night in front of 510 fans, the largest crowd at Manley this year. The win gave Syracuse, the fifth seed in the upcoming Big East tournament, its best conference record since 2005.

Sophomore Noemie Lefebvre added 10 kills and 11 digs for the Orange. Homann dished out 38 assists, and Shanetha McLaurin led the team with 14 digs.

But Morton was the key factor.

Morton, the all-time leader in both total and solo blocks at Syracuse, leads the team with 373 kills and ended her regular season-career with yet another dominant performance. She added seven blocks and 13 kills, registering a .346 hitting percentage for the game.

‘Good as usual,’ senior co-captain Kacie MacTavish said of her teammate. ‘She never fails to impress me when she plays. She had some really good points, and I’m happy she got to score the game-winning point. I was impressed.’

The team’s underclassmen decorated Manley Field House with signs and balloons to celebrate senior night. The seniors: Morton, MacTavish, Annabelle Pellerin, and McLaurin, wore white T-shirts with the team picture on the front for most of pregame warm-ups. All four were honored in a ceremony before the game started.

Syracuse rode the emotion from the pregame activities into the first set. As the players took the court before play started, Villanova head coach Josh Steinbach told his team to make sure they knew where Morton was at all times. But the Wildcats could not contain the collegiate leader in total and solo blocks.

‘It was exciting. The whole game was exciting,’ Morton said. ‘We just wanted to play good because we knew it was going to be our last time playing here.’

Morton notched a kill and a block early in the first set to help the Orange jump out to an early 5-1 lead. Villanova managed to keep the game close, but led for only one point all set.

With the Orange nursing a three-point lead late in the game, Morton sent a rocket shot into the Villanova defense. The ball deflected off the top of a Wildcat player’s head and sailed out-of-bounds, giving the Orange a 21-17 edge.

In the second set, the two teams battled back and forth at 20-20. From there, Morton took over. She got a kill to give Syracuse the lead. Then, a Villanova player sent an attack out-of- bounds trying to avoid Morton’s block.

‘It was true to form,’ SU assistant coach Carol LaMarche said. ‘She had some good blocks in there, some good kills. She was a great leader. We’re definitely going to miss her next year.’

Villanova called a timeout to talk things over. But on the next point, an errant pass sailed over the net, right to Morton. She sent the ball to the floor, adding to the Orange lead.

The Wildcats took another timeout, and again, it was no use. Morton blocked the next attack, and Villanova was called for a double contact while scrambling to keep the ball up. The Wildcats managed to take two more points, but junior Hayley Todd finished off the set with a kill.

‘As usual, outstanding,’ Lefebvre said of Morton’s performance. ‘She did really well.’

In the third game, the Wildcats came out strong, trying to keep their playoff hopes alive. They broke open a 5-5 tie with an 8-1 run. But behind Morton and a coaching adjustment, the Orange battled back.

Sophomore middle Erin Little subbed in for a struggling Pellerin and hit two kills on two attacks. Morton tallied six kills and two blocks in the deciding set, including the final kill to give the Orange a 26-24 win.

‘We played OK today; I still think we can play better,’ LaMarche said. ‘Our energy was a little down, but we did alright. We did enough to win today.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on November 14, 2009 at 12:00 pm