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Florida State’s Khori Louis skied high to meet Veronica Sierzant at the net. Louis turned away the spike to give FSU a quick 1-0 lead before huddling together with her squad. Then, on the ensuing possession, Audrey Rothman stuffed Zharia Harris-Waddy to double the Seminoles’ early advantage.

Florida State blocked three Syracuse (2-18, 0-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) attacks within the first four points of Sunday’s match. It ended up registering a whopping 13. And though the second and third sets didn’t come as easily, the Seminoles (15-7, 9-1 ACC) swept SU in order to keep pace at the top of the ACC. Syracuse’s leading hitter Cherlin Antonio did not play for an undisclosed reason.

Prior to the Orange’s road trip to Tallahassee, head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam knew the task ahead was difficult. “They’re really big, they’re a very good blocking team,” Ganesharatnam said during Tuesday’s media availability.

FSU’s sturdy defense disturbed every offensive attempt from Syracuse. It only had to launch two attacks to jump out to a 9-1 lead. Syracuse didn’t score until its tenth attack, when Sierzant tooled the block.

With Antonio out of the lineup, Syracuse’s attack operated through Greta Schlichter. While the freshman eventually found a groove, she struggled immensely early on, recording five attacking errors before her first kill. Schlichter, a defensive specialist and libero by trade, helped the Orange receive and pass the ball, but didn’t provide the same power Antonio does.

Florida State made the first set look easy and held a 15-3 cushion after totaling three scoring runs of four or more consecutive points. The Orange fought back by notching two-straight blocks, but FSU embarked on another scoring tear to win the first set 25-12.

The Seminoles’ comfortable opening-set victory prompted some changes. Kyleene Filimaua took off the libero jersey and moved to the outside. Audrey Koenig and Rothman, FSU’s top hitters by kills per set, sat down to watch. Despite removing a core part of its offense, Florida State continued to pour it on. After both sides traded kills to bring the second set to 5-4, Florida State won 13 of the ensuing 15 points which included another four blocks.

The Orange finally got a sideout with the score at 18-6, when Sierzant killed a point following a Ganesharatnam timeout. The kill flipped the momentum as the service was handed to Harris-Waddy. She served aggressively and knocked three consecutive aces.

Successful services spearheaded a slew of SU points in the second set. Alyssa Bert aced Florida State three times and Mira Ledermueller garnered one to conjure up a 24-23 scoreline.

Florida State head coach Chris Poole called his first timeout after Syracuse drew within one. Returning from the huddle, service rotation fell back to Harris-Waddy. She immediately forced a deuce with another ace.

The tie was short-lasting however, as Harris-Waddy’s heroics were followed by a service error. Then, a bad set from Bert handed the Seminoles a 2-0 set lead.

Florida State gave its younger players some game time heading into the third set. Ashley Reynolds and Greta Gelumbickas made appearances.

While she didn’t play a major role in the comeback during the second set, Laila Smith was Syracuse’s top hitter Sunday. She started the third set hot by killing two early points. Smith finished the match with a team-high seven.

Trailing 7-6 in the third, it took some time for FSU to settle. But Louis, Maddie Snider, and Skye Ekes all knocked kills as the Seminoles embarked on a 6-1 run to establish a 12-8 lead. Another Harris-Waddy ace brought Syracuse within two, but the Orange couldn’t stay out of their own way. Unforced errors swiftly restored the four-point margin. FSU’s Sydney Conley eventually killed off the match.

While Syracuse fought hard to stay alive, the Orange simply didn’t have enough to make it over the hump, falling to 0-10 in ACC play.

Published on October 22, 2023 at 4:52 pm

Contact Sam: sefederm@syr.edu