In her last game at Syracuse, middle blocker Lindsay McCabe led the way for the Orange (9-21, 2-16 Atlantic Coast) as it defeated Virginia (17-14, 10-8) for its second conference win of the season. The 3-0 victory was SU’s first since Oct. 19.

In the first set, the normally slow-starting Orange jumped out to a 7-2 led by a six-point run while McCabe served. UVA stayed in the match by responding with a 7-0 run of its own, mainly on SU service and attack errors. Two Stacey Smith kills and a McCabe block later, Syracuse was up 12-9 with a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

The Orange steadily climbed the ladder to 25, capped by three McCabe kills in the last four points of the set. SU took it, 25-22, after a late UVA push tightened the score.

The second set stayed close throughout as the two teams traded leads and neither led by more than three points until the very end. Setter Gosia Wlaszczuk recorded 12 assists in SU’s 25-21 second-set win. McCabe contributed a kill and a block.

With the second-set win, SU secured two sets in a conference match for the third time this year and for the first time since Oct. 24.

Looking to close out the match, Syracuse scored the first four points of the third stanza on the strength of two McCabe blocks. SU kept pushing ahead after UVA got on the board, taking its biggest lead of the set at 13-6. For the rest of the set, Virginia fought to stay in it, keeping the game close and slowly chipping away.

After outside hitter Silvi Uattara brought SU to match point on her 16th kill, UVA scored three straight to tie the set at 24. Virginia defensive specialist Karlie Suber missed on a serve, bringing Syracuse to its second match point.

For the final point of the Orange’s season, middle blockers Monika Salkute and Leah Levert combined on a block to take the set, 26-24.

On McCabe’s senior night, she scored 12.5 points on seven kills and five total blocks, four of them solo. Uattara led the offensive attack with 16 kills on 36 attempts.

Also playing in her last match, Melina Violas got the start as a defensive specialist and recorded four digs and 22 serve receipts. Stacey Smith, also a senior, had 9.5 points.

Published on November 28, 2014 at 9:55 pm