Syracuse volleyball rallies for Senior Day win against Duke
Syracuse volleyball rallies for Senior Day win against Duke
Sunday’s game was the final volleyball match in the Women’s Building for senior Ella Saada, and there is no better way to end her home career than with a 3-2 win over the Blue Devils in a hard-fought five-set victory.
Syracuse started the game with setter Lauren Woodford on the court, while usual starter Elena Karakasi remained on the bench due to a broken finger in her right hand. Middle blockers Abby Casiano and Izzy Plummer, right side hitter Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk, outside hitters Saada and Yuliia Yastrub, and libero Lauren Hogan also started for the Orange.
In the first set, Saada started on the service line and Duke followed with a kill. The scoring game for ‘Cuse started with a tip from Plummer. After a three-point rally from the Blue Devils, Lokhmanchuk broke the tie. Two kills from Casiano gave an early 6-3 lead to the Orange. Casiano’s serve kept the Syracuse lead, but a four-point rally from Duke forced the Orange’s first timeout of the game. A block from Yastrub and a kill from Naomi Franco shortened the Blue Devils’ lead by one. After a three-point rally from the Orange, Duke called their first timeout of the game. An overpass from Hogan and a dump from the Blue Devils won the set for Duke, 25-19.
Duke started the second set with a lead, but the scoring game for Syracuse started with a kill from Lokhmanchuk. A blocking party gave SU the lead 11-7. The Blue Devils called their first timeout of the match due to a backcourt violation that pushed the Orange lead 12-7. A kill from Casiano and another one from Lokhmanchuk kept Cuse’s four-point lead. After several on-point defenses from Syracuse, a kill from Duke putted the score 19-13. A killing error from the Blue Devils pushed their coach to call their last timeout of the set. At the end, a kill from Lokhmanchuk gave the win to SU, and the Orange tied the game 1-1.
Woodford started the third set on the service line, followed by a killing error from Duke. Saada gave the 3-1 lead to the Orange on a serve, and a spectacular hustle from Cuse’s defense, followed by several serves from Lokhmanchuk, forced the Blue Devils to call their first timeout of the 8-3 match. Syracuse’s momentum kept going after a block from Casiano and a kill from Franco left the score at 13-5.
Not long after that, a kill from Duke broke SU’s run and cut the lead. After several points from Syracuse, Duke pushed back and pushed the score 19-13. A killing error from Casiano forced head coach Leonid Yelin to call the first timeout of the set. Then, two serves in a row from Yastrub pushed the Blue Devils to call their second and last timeout of the set. The Orange won the set 25-17 due to a net violation from Duke, now leading the game 2-1.
Take a look at some of the highlights from the third set🤩 pic.twitter.com/PC0xDT7la3
— Syracuse Volleyball (@CuseVB) March 28, 2021
The fourth set started with the Blue Devils on the service line and a kill from Saada. Then, a tough call from the referees forced Duke’s first challenge of the game. A kill from Lokhmanchuk cut the Blue Devils’ lead by two, but an early lead forced ‘Cuse to call the first timeout of the set 7-2. Kills from Franco and Casiano broke Duke’s run, but two consecutive blocks from the Blue Devils kept their momentum as they had a 16-7 lead.
Several errors from Syracuse forced their second and last timeout of the match. While SU was still trailing, a kill from Yastrub, a dump from Casiano and a kill from Lokhmanchuk tried to stop Duke’s momentum. Even though the Orange kept fighting, the Blue Devils tied the game 2-2 by winning the set 25-15 and pushing the Orange to a fifth and decisive match.
In the fifth set, with Lokhmanchuk on the service line, Casiano started the scoring game for ‘Cuse. After a two-point rally from Lokhmanchuk, Duke started the scoring game with a kill. A strong kill through the line from Saada pushed Syracuse’s lead by three. Then, a block and two kills from the Blue Devils tied the game 6-6.
An ace from Saada got the lead for the Orange and pushed Duke to call their first timeout of the match. After going back and forth, a killing error from the Blue Devils gave the lead to SU, 11-10. Two kills and a block from Franco forced Duke’s last timeout of the 13-11 game. A long rally and a kill from Saada gave ‘Cuse the 14th point in the last set, and a double from Duke’s setter gave the win to Syracuse, 15-12.
On Senior Day, Saada left her last game with 10 kills, 10 digs and one ace. Casiano contributed to the win with 14 kills, seven digs and six blocking assists, while Lokhmanchuk had 13 kills, three blocking assists and one ace. Woodford had her career high with 25 assists, two digs and one blocking assist. Hogan had 28 digs, two assists and one ace.
Karakasi was in and out of the game due to her broken finger, but that didn’t stop her from getting 22 assists and five digs.
“Elena is as stubborn as a bull. There is no injury that is going to stop her from doing anything,” Casiano said. “She basically told me that she was going to go out there and play her hardest, and that she needed everyone to step up because she was playing through a lot of pain.”
After winning her last game in the Women’s Building, Saada said that the team works really hard in the gym, and she thinks they’ll have a great season in the fall.
“They are going to hopefully have Polina Shemanova and Marina Markova, so when they get the whole team together, I think they are going to have a good future,” Saada said.
Syracuse will play a pair of matches against Florida State on April 1 and against NC State on April 2 in Tallahassee.
is a magazine, news and online graduate student, sports and features writer, plus volleyball enthusiast.
