After a sweep on the road last weekend, Syracuse carried the momentum home and moved to .500 for the first time all season.

The Orange extended its win streak to four straight conference wins, its longest since 2009. SU (10-12, 5-5 Atlantic Coast) played Georgia Tech (8-14, 2-8) on Friday night in the Carrier Dome, winning in three sets. The Orange’s fourth win came Sunday afternoon when it won in four sets against Clemson (11-10, 5-5) at the Women’s Building.

“It feels great,” freshman setter Erica Handley said with enthusiasm. “Things are finally turning around for us. All the things are starting to click for us that we have been working on at practice.”

Friday night marked the first time Syracuse has won this season in the Dome. The Orange won the first set 25-18 and controlled the following two, winning 25-22 and 25-19, respectively.

Outside hitter Silvi Uattara led the offensive charge with 13 kills and served up four aces. Her three-game double-double streak came to an end, though, as she finished with eight digs.

But it was defense that sent the Orange to its third straight win. Melina Violas led the team for the sixth straight game with her season-high 16 digs.

“I think that we really love playing here,” middle blocker Lindsey McCabe said about the Dome. “We like getting the opportunity to play here. Hopefully the athletic program will continue to let us play here.”

On Sunday, Syracuse didn’t start as well. The Orange fell behind 6-1 in the first set, then were down 16-9 later on.

Head coach Leonid Yelin called a timeout and everything changed from there. Syracuse scored 10 of the next 13 points to even the score at 19 apiece. A big reason behind this was the team taking more risks, Yelin said.

The set went into extra points, but Syracuse ultimately claimed a 26-24 victory on a Valeriya Shaipova kill.

“Where is the line of playing risky and playing dumb?” Yelin said. “It’s very important, you have to play risky. You cannot play safe all the time.”

The second set was totally dominated by Syracuse’s offense. Of the 25 points Syracuse scored, 21 came from kills. Handley also dished out 19 assists in just the second set alone.

After dropping the third set, the Orange battled back to claim victory in the fourth. Syracuse went up 24-to-16, but the Tigers would not give up. Clemson went on a 5-0 run, but Nicolette Serratore ended the game by splitting two defenders with a spike to seal the win.

Uattara again led the team offensively, racking up 18 kills and 11 digs. Handley also had a strong game with 55 assists while adding three aces. Shaipova would again put in a strong performance, subbing in for the injured Gosia Wlaszczuk. She led the team with 14 digs and also added 16 kills.

With the wins beginning to pile up as the Orange has won five of its last six, a more energized squad is beginning to emerge.

“Of course it feels great,” Yelin said. “We have had some ups and downs this year. Winning always feels great. Expectations are much higher.”

Published on October 28, 2013 at 12:16 am

Contact Eric: esriter@syr.edu