All season, Syracuse has struggled closing out sets. And the Orange had another chance to let a team come from behind.

But this time was different.

Tied at 17 in the third set, SU libero Belle Sand dug Wake Forest’s serve and middle blocker Monika Salkute slammed home a pass from setter Gosia Wlaszczuk, causing Demon Deacons libero Caroline Wolf to awkwardly bend backward on her knees.

Syracuse (8-12, 1-7 Atlantic Coast) ran off two more points as part of a four-point streak and held the lead for the rest of the set to snap a seven-game losing streak. The Orange defeated the Demon Deacons (12-9, 2-5) in straight sets — 25-23, 25-18 and 25-19 — before a crowd of 183 fans in the Women’s Building on Sunday afternoon.

Due to having one attacking option in Silvi Uattara, the Orange has had trouble finishing sets throughout ACC play. But against Wake Forest, Syracuse went for the kill.

“We’re just happy we stayed mentally ready and that we were tough and that… we just went 100 percent,” Wlaszczuk said.

In the second set of SU’s loss to Louisville on Friday, the Orange blew a 24-21 lead and lost the set, 26-24. But in three straight sets Sunday, the Orange finished off Wake Forest on one or two tries.

Wake Forest fought back into the game in the first set. After Syracuse built a five-point lead, Wake Forest whittled it down to 24-22. Wlaszczuk served the ball out of bounds, started talking to herself out of visible frustration and the Deamon Deacons drew within one.

But Wlaszczuk and the Orange shook off the mistake. After Wake Forest served, Wlaszczuk set a pass to Salkute, who ripped a spike and Wake Forest dug the ball out of bounds to end the set.

The second set was closely contested until Syracuse erased a 14-12 Wake Forest lead. The Orange lit up the Deamon Deacons’ defense en route to a six-point streak to take a 18-14 lead.

Syracuse refined its game from the first set, taking the first opportunity it had to close out the set. With the set point, Uattara, an outside hitter, smacked a spike that Wake Forest misplayed to end the set.

But the third set took more from the Orange than the first two. In it, Wake Forest raced ahead to a 5-0 lead. Wlaszczuk was worried because the Orange had struggled in third sets after winning the first two in past games.

“In the beginning, I was like, ‘Oh no, it’s 5-0, please not again’ and then we stepped up,” Wlaszczuk said.

The Orange caught Wake Forest to tie the game at seven and traded points until Salkute’s spike gave Syracuse the lead for good. To end the set, the Orange went back to Uattara twice.

Her first spike was returned by Wake Forest. Wlaszczuk set the ball to Uattara again, but this time Uattara banged home the spike, punctuating Syracuse’s first ACC win of the year.

Yet despite the win, Syracuse still sits in last place in the ACC. Head coach Leonid Yelin understands the win is a step forward, but the Orange still has a long way to go.

“We’re not completely out (of the) hole, hopefully we’re somewhere in the middle,” Yelin said. “But just to believe we could get out and start digging and climbing, that’s a good hope.”

Published on October 19, 2014 at 6:46 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati