SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Ending their Northeast road trip in Syracuse, New York, the Virginia Tech Volleyball team was defeated by Syracuse 3-0 on Sunday.
The Hokies (9-18, 2-12 ACC) received significant contributions from redshirt freshman Jennifer Williams, who started her first-ever match and notched a career-high five kills, and freshman Anabel Zier, who added six kills along with setter Talyn Jackson posting 25 assists and five digs.
Polina Shemanova led the Orange (10-11, 7-7) with 17 kills, and Aliah Bowllan added 18 digs.
THE MATCH
Syracuse gained an early lead in the first set, going on a 10-3 run to start. Tech would pull within five at 15-10 after a kill from Zier. The final five points scored in the set from the Orange did not come easy as Tech match each point. But the Hokies couldn't recover from the early lead, as Syracuse won the first set 25-17.
The second frame was close halfway through, with the Hokies trailing by two at 11-9, following an ace from junior Kylie Thomas. Syracuse caught fire, though, posting six straight kills. This run would prove to be too much to overcome as 'Cuse won 25-15 in second.
Gaining momentum in the third, following a kill from freshman Cera Powell, the Hokies were all tied up with Syracuse early in the frame. Midway through the set, Williams had back-to-back kills for Tech. However, the Orange closed out the final frame on a 9-3 run to win the stanza 25-13 and claim the match.
QUOTING VIRGINIA TECH COACH JILL WILSON
On today's match:
"I thought our team did a really good job of trying to hit the shots that we talked a lot about and Syracuse just made some really nice defensive plays," Wilson said. "I thought it was a good step as far as really engaging in what we had scouted out and trying to be aggressive with the right shots. We just have to keep getting stronger and keep working on our offense and improve it every single day."
On Jennifer Williams' play:
"Jennifer Williams, a Virginia native, had her first start today as a redshirt-freshman," Wilson said. "I thought she came in and did a really good job and added a spark to us and gained some valuable experience for the future."
NOTES
- Williams, who has played in eight matches this season, topped her previous best in kills, which she set in Tech's upset of then-No. 23 Louisville.
- Cerchio, an Ohio native, registered five kills against the Orange. She is the Hokies' team-leader in kills on the season with 277.
- Following today's match, libero Logan Mosley is just 28 digs shy of the all-time freshman dig record at Virginia Tech, owning 453 this fall.
- After eight kills against Syracuse, Kaity Smith now has 200 on the season.
UP NEXT
The Hokies will be back in action on Friday when they play at Clemson at 7 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
