In the fourth set against Georgia Tech on Oct. 24, Gosia Wlaszczuk set a ball to Silvi Uattara. For the Yellow Jackets, only one blocker slid to cover Uattara’s spike.

For Syracuse, one blocker sliding is a rarity. Uattara faced four and six hands throughout Atlantic Coast Conference play because SU’s attack was slower, allowing multiple opponent blockers to set up.

Although Syracuse’s hitting was inconsistent for most of this season, the Orange has begun to turn it around in the second half of October and make its attack less predictable.

Against Louisville (13-8, 5-4 Atlantic Coast) on Friday at 7 p.m., Syracuse (8-13, 1-8) will look to continue to improve its passing to attack successfully. Better passing allows Wlaszczuk to be more aggressive and it gives SU more attacking options, taking pressure off of Uattara and reducing the amount of blockers the Cardinals will be able to set up.

“If we pass well, you can look at the stats, Gosia’s hitting a lot and it’s helped,” said head coach Leonid Yelin. “… Monika (Salkute) was getting more sets than Silvi, which is really good to get away from Silvi and let her hit when (we) really need it, when it’s really tough.”

As the setter, the offense runs through Wlaszczuk. She dictates who gets the ball, when they get the ball and how much they get the ball.

Yelin thinks a setter can make players look much worse or much better. Players have to trust each other’s timing and precision. The setter has to trust where the hitter will be and when she’ll be there. Hitters need to trust where and when the ball will get to them.

“(Trust has) definitely gotten better as the season’s gone on, as we’re more comfortable playing with each other,” said Lindsay McCabe, a senior blocker.

The team’s improved passing allows Wlaszczuk to be aggressive and try fake sets. Wlaszczuk at times will go up in position for a set with both hands under the ball and suddenly hit the ball over the net instead of passing. It adds an element for opposing teams to look for.

In the first set against Georgia Tech, the Orange passed seamlessly, Wlaszczuk tried her fake spike and it worked perfectly, with not a Georgia Tech blocker in sight. Passing became stagnant at times later in the match. Wlaszczuk tried the same move later, but the Yellow Jackets set up a front-line player to block her attack.

Passing helps the team the most by taking pressure off of Uattara. For most of the season, Uattara was the team’s only attacking threat, so teams game-planned for only Uattara.

“They know (Uattara’s) good and they (are) serving to her not because she’s a bad serve receiver, but just to keep her busy,” Yelin said.

Defenses slide simultaneously with the offense’s pass and in ACC play — until recently — Uattara would regularly see two or three blockers in front of the net to stop her spike. A triple block leaves nowhere to hit the ball. If Uattara hits the ball over the blockers, it could go out of the back line and if she hits it to the side, it could go out of bounds.

But recently, triple blocks haven’t been set up against the Orange. Salkute and McCabe have contributed offensively. Teams haven’t been able to key in on Uattara because of the increased attacking options.

Keeping pressure off of Uattara and moving the ball to all hitters will play an important role in how the Orange performs the rest of the season, and continues with the Cardinals on Friday night.

“I want to have a trust in my hitters, the same I did last game,” Wlaszczuk said, “so as soon as I will see they (are) all performing well and no one is taking a break, I feel that I can use them all and that helps to distribute (the) ball.”

Published on October 30, 2014 at 12:08 am

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati