Syracuse falls to NC State in straight sets, drops to 1-10 in ACC play

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For the first time in two years, Syracuse entered an ACC match coming off a win. After a five-set victory against Virginia Tech, the Orange looked to build on their momentum with a matchup against NC State.

The Wolfpack provided a formidable test for the Orange. They entered Friday in the top half of the ACC in points, hitting percentage, assists, kills, blocks, service aces, and digs.

Friday, NC State (12-7, 7-4 ACC) flexed its muscle, defeating Syracuse (13-10, 1-10 ACC) in straight sets. It marked the seventh time the Orange have lost in straight sets in the ACC.

The Wolfpack controlled the pace right from the jump. Kills from Amanda Rice, Sophia Groom, Courtney Bryant, and a block from Groom opened up a 6-2 lead. Rice, who leads the Wolfpack in kills, added 16 to her total. Bryant and Groom also chipped in with six and five kills, respectively.

The following eight points were split between the two teams, with the score at 13-8. A 5-0 run that included three straight service aces for NC State extended that lead to 18-8. On the night, Sydney Daniels recorded a career-high six service aces with three coming in straight succession. The Wolfpack finished the night with nine service aces while the Orange put up just two.

Following the three straight aces and a kill from Groom and Madison Williams, NC State won the first set 25-14.

The Wolfpack continued to fire on all cylinders in the second set, running away with an 8-1 lead. Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam took a timeout, but it didn’t stop the bleeding as NC State extended its lead to 10-2.

Back-to-back points from Zharia Harris-Waddy gave hopes toward a SU run but were quickly put out after an Ava Palm service error. Palm and Harris-Waddy combined for 11 kills, but Syracuse had no players who recorded double-digit kills. Skylar George — who scored the winning point and led the Orange in kills (14) in the victory against Virginia Tech — recorded the most kills Friday with nine.

After Palm’s service error, Syracuse and NC State traded two-point runs with each other, taking the score to 16-9. NC State remained in control for the rest of the set, winning the set 25-13 due to a kill from Lily Cropper.

In the third set, the Wolfpack jumped to another early lead at 6-3. Kills from Groom and Bryant and an ace from Daniels left the Wolfpack in the driving seat. That continued for most of the set, with the Wolfpack holding a 19-11 lead.

However, Syracuse’s biggest run of the night cut the lead down to just three after a Anastasiia Nikolnikova kill, and an attacking error from Ava Brizard made the score 19-16. Nikolnikova, who is second in the ACC in hitting percentage (39.7%) and fifth in blocks per set (1.30), registered two kills and blocks in the loss.

Rice and George traded kills to take the score to 20-17. A George service ace and a Palm kill cut the lead down to one and stretched the Syracuse scoring run to 6-1.

Just as Syracuse saw a window, a Rice kill and a Nikolnikova attack error opened the gap back to three. The biggest rally of the night ended with an NC State net violation, and the lead was shortened to two at 22-20. But, a Harris-Waddy attacking error and kills from Jada Allen and Bryant closed the set at 25-20 and the match at 3-0 in favor of the Wolfpack.

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