Syracuse Volleyball Picks Up First Win of Season

The Orange topped Cornell on the road Wednesday night.

Ithaca, N.Y. -- The Syracuse volleyball team was able to pull off their first match win of the season, 3-1, against its upstate neighbors, Cornell. The Big Red saw orange as leading scorers, right side/outside hotter, Cherlin Antonio ended the game with 19 kills and middle blocker, Zharia Harris-Waddy, earned five serving aces and some kills under her belt as well.

To start the game in Newman Arena, Syracuse looked to get on track. After starting 0-6 on the season, Syracuse had yet to win a set. The Orange came out strong to jump out to a 9-5 early lead, forcing Cornell to call a timeout. Junior, Antonio, added nine extra kills to her 29 previous kills on the season within the first set. The orange were able to close that set 25-18.

In the second set, the ball was out of play a little too often as both teams saw the back line and the net more frequently than extended arms. Giving up some free points to each other, Syracuse was able to collect themselves and win the set 25-19.

To start the third set coming back from the locker room, Syracuse was silenced from the start. Cornell’s heavy hitters Eliza Konvicka and Nicole Mallus showed no mercy as they went on a 10-0 run. The Orange caught some relief after a net violation was committed by the Big Red. That was enough to get the Orange back into the game as Antonio and Harris-Waddy found their groove again, but it was just enough a little too late as Syracuse lost the third set 19-25.

Entering the fourth set on the verge of a potential set match, Cornell and Syracuse were neck for neck, rally for rally, hit for hit. The Orange and Big Red were playing some of their best volleyball. Each side got some extra rest between possessions due to the eastern heat waves causing some extra mops to hit the floor. The extra rest did the Orange well to win the match 25-21, ending with a huge hit from the back line than none other, Cherlin Antonio. The bench rushed the court with open arms, elated about their first win.

The orange are now 1-6 on the season, looking to battle against yet another upstate neighbor, Colgate on Tuesday, September 12th at 7PM. 

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