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Off a Clemson serve at the beginning of the third set, Syracuse got the ball to setter Elena Karakasi, who saw middle blocker Abby Casiano lurking in the center of the court through her peripheral. Casiano jumped in the air facing the crowd at the Women’s Building and saw the right side of the court packed with Clemson defenders. She turned mid-air and spiked the ball across her body, the ball landing just inside the left line where no Tigers were even close.

Syracuse (15-7, 4-6 Atlantic Coast) snapped its five-game losing streak in a three-set sweep against Clemson (11-10, 3-7 ACC). Both teams were in desperation mode, as this marked Clemson’s fourth straight loss. The Orange’s lack of errors and offensive efficiency were enough to propel them to their first win in three weeks.

But Clemson was particularly shorthanded in central New York. Starting outside hitter Camryn Hannah and the Tigers’ starting libero Devan Taylor didn’t travel with the team to Syracuse. Last March, Hannah recorded an ACC record 37 kills during a close five-set Syracuse win. And before today’s game, starting middle blocker Colleen Finney collapsed during the ACC moment of silence. Finney was helped to her feet by trainers, walked to the medical tent and didn’t return during the game.

Following a pregame huddle, Casiano yelled at her teammates “Play hard and let’s go!” And the team followed suit. After middle blocker Izzy Plummer denied Clemson’s Ani Clark’s spike, the ball bounced off the net back to her. Plummer bumped the ball to Karakasi, who sent the ball to outside hitter Marina Markova on the left side of the court. Markova jumped high above the net and spiked the ball down perfectly at Clemson’s back right corner for the first point of the day.

The Orange kept their momentum and jumped out to a 7-1 lead. But after a series of Syracuse attack errors, a service error and a bad set, Clemson climbed back into the game and made the score 17-14. Still, the Orange limited their mistakes the rest of the outing Clemson finished the game with 21 more errors than Syracuse. Casiano said the team just had to settle in.

“The (mistakes) are mostly mental,” Casiano said. “You can really get very emotional with the game, so it’s just about staying checked in, staying in tune with the game and the flow of the game.”

Once the first set got close, the avalanche of the Syracuse offense continued. The Orange followed up libero Lauren Hogan’s service error with three consecutive kills and eight straight points to get a 22-14 lead. Syracuse boasted a .300 hitting percentage after a 25-17 win in the first set.

The second set was back and forth throughout and saw four different lead changes. Syracuse found itself down 18-14 after missed block attempts on some Clemson spikes. Then the Tigers began to struggle with five errors, handing the Orange a 21-20 lead. Syracuse scored four straight points to take the second set.

On the last play of the set, Casiano and outside hitter Naomi Franco blocked a Clemson spike and the ball stayed spinning at the top of the net for a moment. Once the ball fell, Clemson sent the ball back to Franco who then hit it to Markova for a cross-court spike that landed on Clemson’s side. Several Tiger defenders dropped to the ground for a dig, but the ball landed too fast. With that, the Orange won 25-20 and needed one more set to officially end their losing streak.

At the start of the third set, outside hitter Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk made her way onto the court for the first time since SU’s Oct. 10 loss to then-No. 3 Louisville. On her first playback, Lokhmanchuk delivered a kill from the right side of the net into Clemson’s far left corner.

“It’s really exciting to see (Lokhmanchuk) back,” Markova said. “She really can help us blocking, hitting and seeing those steps. It brings up the energy and emotions of the team.”

Like the second set, the third set started off close and both teams found themselves tied at 12-12. Markova got into a groove serving the ball, with two straight aces that brought the game to 18-13. The first one made Clemson libero Anna Renwick chase down the ball, and she was barely able to get a hand on it. Renwick mistakenly hit the ball all the way to her left and her teammates dove after it but to no avail. In the next play, Markova’s serve floated high in the air, sailing past Clemson defenders before landing just on the backline.

Three of the last four points were won off kills by different Syracuse outside hitters. For the opening kill, Polina Shemanova dug the ball straight up into the air, hitting the ceiling. Markova saw the ball as it was coming down and used one fist on the back of the ball to hit it right in front of the net, confusing Clemson’s defenders. The Orange won the last set 25-19.

Syracuse now has some confidence going into its trip to Florida next weekend. The Orange will face ACC opponents Miami on Oct. 29 and Florida State on Oct. 31. Syracuse head coach Leonid Yelin said the team’s preparation has to match its performance like it did today.

“It’s how you’re preparing, really preparing because talking and clapping and screaming to each other. If it’s fake, you will see this on the court,” Yelin said. “So how you really feel inside and how you really focus and how you really fire up. You have to really bring it to every game and it’s not easy.”

Published on October 24, 2021 at 6:26 pm

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu