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Before Syracuse’s match against Iowa State Saturday, it had won 10 straight games, five times the amount it had the year prior. Despite a seismic improvement in its record from last year, all but one of SU’s opponents before Iowa State held records well below .500. The Orange were barely tested with only three games not ending in a sweep.

This weekend offered an opportunity to take down more highly-regarded opponents. The Orange defeated Iowa State in five sets, but head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam told his players that the most formidable challenge was still ahead of them.

After a draining match against the Cyclones, next up for SU was a much-improved Cornell team from a year ago. The day after would be “the most difficult one of the weekend,” according to Ganesharatnam.

“We’ve seen numerous teams this year in the NCAA have big wins and then lose the next match against so-called smaller opponents,” Ganesharatnam said. “We knew coming into this match that it will be important that we are in it mentally and well prepared.”

Syracuse (12-0, 0-0 ACC) defeated Cornell (6-3, 0-0 Ivy League) 3-1 to earn its 12th straight win going into ACC matches starting next week.

In the first set, the Orange came out slow, falling into a 6-4 deficit highlighted by kills from Jaida Sione and Camryn Carlo. A kill and block from Sydney Moore, who formerly played at Cornell, tied the set at 7-7.

SU extended its lead with a 4-0 run, from kills by Klara Zarnovicka and Moore and an ace by Ava Palm, to make it 12-8. Palm continued her impressive performance against Iowa State by matching her kill total (16) against the Big Red and recording a team-high nine digs. Zarnovicka totaled 10 kills, one fewer than the day before against the Cyclones.

A big block from freshman Haley Clark on Anastasiia Nikolnikova kept Cornell within four at 18-14. Another block from the Big Red on Palm ricocheted back off the graduate transfer and looped over the net for a kill. An error at the net from Mackenzie Parsons forced head coach Trudy Vande Berg to call a timeout with the score 21-15 in favor of the Orange.

After the timeout, a 4-1 run from the Big Red wasn’t enough to recover the set. A Nikolnikova kill finished the first set for SU, winning 25-19.

The Big Red controlled the second set from the jump. Cornell opened up on a 4-1 run, with all points coming from Syracuse’s errors. Kills from Clark and Parsons forced Ganesharatnam to call a timeout.

Both freshmen had career performances in the losing effort. Clark scored a season-high 17 kills and Parsons tied her season-best 14 kills against the Orange.

An Eliza Konvicka ace established the most significant lead of the match at 12-5. Four straight points from Syracuse cut the lead down to three, but Cornell quickly answered back.

A kill from the setter Doga Ozalp, followed by a service ace from Clark and a kill from Parsons, started a 5-1 run. The Orange responded with a run of their own to force a timeout from Cornell with the score at 17-13.

The timeout didn’t stop any momentum from Cornell, as it opened up to a 22-17 lead. Skylar George’s three attacking errors in a row left Syracuse with a mountain to climb, eventually losing the second set 25-21.

“We don’t need to win every match 3-0,” Ganesharatnam said. “There’s going to be situations where the other team is going to score. That’s competition. At the end of the day, we have to focus on moving and preparing for the next set and executing.”

With the second set in the rearview mirror, the Orange traded points with the Big Red. Aces from Ashlee Gnau and George put Syracuse in front 5-3. The Orange scored four service aces in the third set alone, totaling nine in the match. Going into the match, SU was fifth in the NCAA in aces per set (2.3).

From there, a Veronica Sierzant ace led to a Cornell timeout with the score at 10-5. Sierzant, who came in for Mira Ledermueller in the third set, registered 27 assists in the last two sets compared to Ledermueller’s 17 assists in the first two sets. Ganesharatnam brought in Sierzant because of her defense since Cornell and Syracuse had the same plan of attacking the opposing setter.

A pair of Zarnovicka kills put Syracuse up 15-12 and another Gnau ace extended that to five. Nikolnikova, Palm, Sierzant, and Parsons traded kills, with Syracuse holding a 21-15 lead. Carlo brought Cornell within four points, but an attacking error from Konvicka handed Syracuse the third set 25-19.

The fourth set started the same way as the second set, with Cornell opening up an early lead. At 8-2, a kill from Clark forced Syracuse into a timeout. The Big Red later extended their lead to as much as seven.

As Cornell led 19-13, Syracuse went on a 7-2 run to move within two points of the Big Red. Syracuse and Cornell traded points back and forth, eventually tying up at 25.

An attacking error from Konvicka gave Syracuse a fleeting advantage after Parsons’ kill tied the game at 26. A kill from Moore, matched by a kill from Sione, left the teams deadlocked.

With the score at 27-27, Palm’s 16th kill was followed by an attacking error from Meghan Gaffigan, which gave Syracuse its second win in as many days.

“Anytime you end up with a win, you’re obviously doing a lot of things better than when you’re doing poorly,” Moore said. “I think (we’ve) had really gritty wins that we’ll be able to rely on throughout the rest of the season.”

Published on September 22, 2024 at 7:55 pm

Contact Quinn: qdpostma@syr.edu