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Coming off two straight wins over Columbia (1-2, Ivy League) and Fordham (2-3, Atlantic 10), Syracuse (6-0, Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated Manhattan (0-6, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) 3-1 at the Big Apple Tournament. The win marked SU’s sixth straight to start the season.

Syracuse started strong, scoring nine straight points in the first set. The initial boost helped the Orange win 25-14. With only three errors and an 11-point lead, it was SU’s most dominant set of the match. Ava Palm secured the win while recording her third kill.

In the second set, SU continued to command the game. The Orange had 14 kills, the most they scored in a single set of the match. Though Manhattan remained close by with 12. Despite its stronger performance during the second set, Manhattan caused a long game delay because its players fell out of their serving order.

With Syracuse leading 21-18, Manhattan had scored an ace. But it was in the wrong serving set, and Syracuse was given the point and possession. The score was changed to 22-18 and the Orange ended up easily winning the set 25-20.

In contrast to its stellar performance in the first two sets, SU struggled in the third. The lead went back and forth, ultimately resulting in Manhattan winning 25-21 with 12 kills. Syracuse recorded six errors and only 10 kills during the set.

SU secured the match win in the fourth set, but Manhattan didn’t go down without a fight. Sophomore Mira Ledermueller gave the Orange match point, bumping the score to 24-15. However, Manhattan went on a 6-0 scoring streak, saving six straight match points. Finally, it was Zharia Harris-Waddy who finished the job, leading Syracuse to a 25-21 win.

Once again, Palm recorded the most kills with 14, bringing that to 44 kills during the Big Apple Tournament. Skylar George and Sydney Moore were other key parts of the Orange’s success, recording 13 and eight kills, respectively. George provided additional support with five aces, three blocks, and 11 digs. Ledermueller boasted 30 assists, 10 digs and two aces.

Transfer Piper Willinger made her Syracuse debut in the fourth set, recording five assists. Klara Zarnovicka played two sets, versus her one set against Fordham, scoring one kill and providing four blocks. Sara Wasiakowska led the team for aces with five, along with four kills and played in all four sets.

While the Orange outscored the Jaspers 96-80, both teams nearly scored the same amount of kills with Syracuse at 46 and Manhattan at 47. However, Manhattan had far more errors than Syracuse with a total of 28, while SU had only 16, an improvement from the 23 SU recorded against Fordham.

SU’s early-season performances are a massive improvement from last season. The Orange sit at 6-0 despite going 0-18 in conference play in 2023. The Orange will head to the Siena Tournament late next week, competing against Siena College, NJIT for the second time this season and the University of Idaho.

Published on September 7, 2024 at 6:04 pm

Contact Vivian: vpcollins06@gmail.com