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In a game that featured 35 ties and 15 lead changes, Boston College (13-16, 6-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) had more gas left in the tank as it defeated Syracuse (14-15, 2-15 ACC) in a five-set thriller.

Syracuse deployed a new look in the first set, with true freshman Emma Ortiz making a rare start. Head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam penciled in Ortiz with fellow defensive specialist Ashlee Gnau and a libero — either Nikki Shimao or Greta Schlichter — to form an ultra-defensive back three.

“I think we wanted to strengthen our serve receive and our defense,” Ganesharatnam said. “We felt like we had some instability on serve receive in the last match and we wanted to create a little bit more stability there.”

Against Clemson, Syracuse surrendered a 41.9 hitting percentage in the first set and five aces throughout the game. Wednesday’s tactical changes helped the defense better tame a quick and potent Eagles offense.

Syracuse got off to a hot start with two kills from Ava Palm and another from Sydney Moore. Boston College didn’t find its first lead until the second of Audrey Ross’ 21 kills made it 8-7 Eagles. BC controlled most of the set from then on, but a kill from Palm brought SU’s deficit to one at 18-17.

However, the Eagles promptly outscored the Orange 7-3 and won the first set 25-20. Anna Herrington recorded three of the last five points for Boston College.

After sitting out the first set, Skylar George started the second set and made an instant impact with four kills in the frame alone. George only had three kills and recorded a hitting percentage in the negatives versus the Tigers.

After trailing 9-6, Syracuse went on an 8-1 run to take a 14-10 advantage midway through the second set. In that span, the Eagles had four attacking errors, each coming from different players.

For the rest of the set, Syracuse didn’t let Boston College get close, leading by as much as seven en route to a 25-20 win. The Orange had a hitting percentage of 39.4% and a side-out percentage of 65%.

But the third set was the Orange’s worst. It was the only set in the match without a lead change. To start, SU trailed 10-3 due to a bevy of errors. After a kill from Zharia Harris-Waddy, the Orange tightened the deficit to five at 20-15. From then on, the Eagles took off with five kills to finish the job 25-16.

With its backs against the wall in the fourth set, Syracuse recorded five aces, including two from Ortiz, two from Palm and one from George.

“The serving was pretty good, especially later on in our match,” Ganesharatnam said. “Zharia (Harris-Waddy) did a really good job serving. I thought Emma (Ortiz) did a tremendous job… It allowed us to get back into the game.”

The Orange needed every last one of their aces in the fourth set, as points were hard to come by. The Orange hit -5.6% in the set with only eight kills and tallied 10 points off Boston College attacking errors.

Syracuse led most of the set but gave up the lead midway through, trailing 19-15. Four unanswered points and a 5-1 run for SU helped swing momentum in its favor, handing the Orange the fourth set.

Syracuse started the fifth set sluggish, down 6-2, but rallied back to square the set at six apiece. The final set featured nine ties, but the Eagles pulled out ahead 14-11, pushing the Orange to the brink. SU responded masterfully with kills from Harris-Waddy and George, along with two more errors from the Eagles, to take a 15-14 lead.

One point away from the victory, the Orange were unable to capitalize. Two kills by BC’s Julia Haggerty put the Eagles in the same situation. George’s 18th kill of the match kept the Orange alive but eventually, an error from the redshirt freshman gave Boston College the win. The Eagles won the set 19-17, the only set they out-blocked the Orange.

“(It) didn’t go our way at the end,” Ganesharatnam said. “But (I’m) very, very proud of the way we competed, completely different than against Clemson, and I’m really happy about that.”

On her senior night, Shimao led the Orange with 13 digs. She was proud of the fight her adversity-riddled team showed, even in a loss.

“I think at the end, I could really see the fight in everyone,” Shimao said. “I’m really proud of (the team). Not only does this teach you to continue to fight in volleyball, but in life, and I think that was great to see.”

Though, Syracuse has a chance for revenge on Sunday against BC and next Wednesday versus Cal, two teams they’ve lost to in five sets. Moore is excited for the possibility of redemption.

“That’s the beauty of being able to play them again,” Moore said. “Both went to five, so we were already so close. They’re feeling good. They got to win, and we’re hungry for more. I can’t wait for those matches.”

Published on November 20, 2024 at 11:36 pm

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