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Syracuse (9-0, Atlantic Coast Conference) continued its hot start to 2024, defeating Idaho (1-8, Big Sky) in straight sets. It was SU’s third straight win at the Siena Saints Invitational, while it failed to drop a set.

Though it came out with a win, Syracuse struggled in a back-and-forth first set. The Orange were plagued by eight errors, but still led 16-14. From that point, SU went on a 9-1 run to close out the set. Two kills from Sydney Moore and an error from Idaho helped seal the first-set win.

The Orange maintained their momentum in the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. Syracuse went up 19-12 after a one-armed dig from freshman Emma Ortiz turned into a kill by Ava Palm. From there, Syracuse never looked back, winning the set 25-14.

In the third set, the Orange kept the Vandals at arms length, with Palm recording six kills and two aces. After a back-and-forth rally, a kill from sophomore Zharia Harris-Waddy made it 14-7. Idaho trimmed the lead down to 22-20, but after two Vandal errors and Ava Palm’s 16th kill, the game was over as Syracuse won the set 25-20.

The Orange played fantastic defense, recording 46 digs, as Sara Wasiakowska led the team with 10. Six total players had more than five digs as well. Idaho was limited to only 21 kills after the Orange conceded 31 in their last two games this week.

Palm was once again the focal point of the offense. The California State Bakersfield transfer recorded 34 total attacks, with the next highest player recording 17. Palm is one of three players who have played all 30 sets thus far for the Orange. She kept her strong play going, recording 16 kills Saturday. Moore had another productive outing, recording seven kills on 10 attempts. The Cornell transfer has the second-best attacking percentage on SU (45.8%), only trailing Anastasiia Nikolnikova (48.2%).

Sophomore Mira Ledermueller took most of the setting responsibilities with Veronica Sierzant not playing. Ledermueller had another strong outing, recording 27 assists for the second straight game. She also added seven digs, a kill and a block assist. Ledermueller also hasn’t recorded a service error in her last three matches.

After missing last weekend’s Big Apple Tournament, Nikolnikova played in eight of the nine sets this weekend. The junior middle blocker had an attacking percentage of 46.4% on the weekend in 28 total attacks and 14 kills.

Published on September 14, 2024 at 7:44 pm

Contact Aidan: aidan.tseng@gmail.com