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Down 23-18 in the first set, the Orange needed to mount a comeback to avoid falling behind early. They almost succeeded, stringing together three consecutive points from a kill by Raina Hughes and two attack errors by NC State. Syracuse’s run brought the score to 23-21, but the Wolfpack won the next point and Naomi Franco notched a kill before a Bre Walp attack error wrapped up the set, giving the Wolfpack 1-0 set lead.

The first set proved to be the only one in which the Orange remained competitive throughout. They dropped the second and third sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-15, respectively, en route to Syracuse’s (8-9, 4-3 Atlantic Coast) third-straight conference loss as NC State (11-7, 5-2 ACC) came away with the home sweep.

For the first time all season, not one Syracuse player recorded double-digit kills. Polina Shemanova led the way with nine, followed by Naomi Franco with eight and Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk with seven. Shemanova tied her season-high with nine attack errors, making for a 0% hitting percentage. 

It was a collective effort for the Wolfpack. Ava Brizard led the team with 10 kills, and she was the only player with a double-digit kill count. However, five additional players produced at least five kills. 

The Orange jumped out to a lead early in the second set, at various points leading 4-1 and 5-3 as Shemanova and Franco both recorded a kill. The Wolfpack also committed two attack errors and made a bad set. But the lead evaporated just as quickly as it formed, and NC State won the next three points to go up 6-5. The Orange soon tied the set at 7-7 before the Wolfpack took seven of the next eight points and didn’t look back.

NC State’s most significant advantage came at the net, as its 10 blocks doubled Syracuse’s five. The Orange actually recorded more blocks in the first set, before the Wolfpack dominated at the net for the remainder of the match. Jada Allen paced both teams with five total blocks, while Vanja Bukilic and Amanda Rice recorded four apiece. Shemanova led the Orange with three.

Lauren Woodford’s 14 assists led the Orange, as she continued her streak of 17 straight matches with double-digit assists since the beginning of the season. Riley Hoffman recorded 11 — her lowest total since Sept. 9 against Yale. Kristen McDaniel and Naomi Cabello led that category for the Wolfpack with 17 and 14, respectively. 

Not only have the Orange lost three straight ACC matches after beginning conference play 4-0, but they haven’t won a single set since Oct. 2, when they defeated Virginia Tech, 3-1. Syracuse has lost all nine sets played over the course of its losing streak, its longest streak since it lost nine consecutive sets in October 2020. 

The 2020 team responded to that streak with back-to-back conference wins, both of which came via three-set sweeps over Boston College. This season, the Orange look to do the same as they continue their road trip against North Carolina on Sunday before traveling to Clemson for a matchup with the Tigers next Friday.

Published on October 14, 2022 at 9:25 pm

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