As Villanova middle blocker CeCe Twitty slammed home the winning spike of the third set, Kelly Morrisroe had a sickening feeling of déjà vu. The SU assistant coach had seen her team squander enough leads, and they had just missed an opportunity to sweep the Wildcats.

‘How could I think that the game wasn’t going five (sets)?’ said Morrisroe. ‘As a coach, your mind automatically thinks about where we’ve struggled this season.’

SU was able to escape the prospect of another five-set match against Villanova on Friday night at the Women’s Building by winning the fourth set to clinch a conference victory. But the team wasn’t as fortunate against Georgetown on Sunday, losing in five sets to add another defeat to an abysmal record in games that take all five sets to decide.

The Orange has won just one five-set match this season, beating Youngstown State 3-2 on Aug. 27. Since then, the team has lost five-set matches to Utah Valley, Buffalo, South Florida, Niagara and Georgetown.

So even though the third set was the only one Villanova would win Friday night,

Morrisroe couldn’t help but think of the worst-case scenario. SU won the first two sets in losses against Utah State and South Florida, and Villanova had momentum after that Twitty spike.

‘You start thinking about the ways we’ve lost this season and five-set losses are at the top of that list,’ said Morrisroe. ‘The game (against Villanova) could’ve easily gone five sets.’

The game against Georgetown did go the full five sets and resulted in another five-set loss. In different, yet equally painful ways, SU has let their opponents crawl back into contests.

The Orange had several chances to end the South Florida game with a sweep two weeks ago on their home court, but after the second set the offense couldn’t finish off a gritty opponent. 

Shots routinely fell right into the heart of the Bulls defense as a two-set lead slipped away. USF libero Janice Rivera didn’t have to work hard for her 21 digs in the match. In the fourth set, Rivera easily dug three separate spike attempts by freshman outside hitter Andrea Fisher.

Morrisroe lamented her team’s ability to close out opponents. But two days later, SU would lose to Niagara in five sets.

‘We tend to let our opponents hang around,’ Morrisroe said.

But SU didn’t let Georgetown hang around in Sunday’s five-set loss. The Orange had to win the fourth set at home after dropping the second and third sets due to hitting errors and mistimed blocks. 

After forcing a fifth set, the team came out flat and fell behind early on.

‘We didn’t have enough energy,’ SU setter Laura Homann said. ‘We have to change our approach because something has to change in five-set games.’

That lack of energy cost the Orange in the final set. SU couldn’t overcome the early deficit to beat the Hoyas.

Trailing 6-4 in the fifth set, Homann and outside hitter Noemie Lefebvre collided a few feet behind the net. Both were trying to dig a spike from Georgetown outside hitter Alex Johnson, but neither succeeded.

 Two plays later, Georgetown libero MacKenzie Simpson served a shot that landed perfectly in the back right corner of the court and widened the Hoyas lead even more.  Five minutes later, freshman Ying Shen gave Georgetown the win by serving into the net.

Homann said the first-year players like Shen could have something to do with the Orange’s five-set problems. 

‘Some of the girls haven’t dealt with this kind of challenge,’ Homann said. ‘We’re young.’

Youth aside, defensive specialist Ashley Williams said she isn’t sure why her team can’t win a match that goes the distance.

‘It’s a great question to ask,’ said Williams. ‘Five-set games keep frustrating us.’

nctoney@syr.edu

 

Published on October 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets