The Orange (5-0) continued its torrid start to the season, sweeping Georgia (4-3) in three sets on Sunday in Athens, Georgia.

Syracuse never trailed in the first set, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead. After a Bulldogs kill made the score 20-16, the Orange scored five straight points to take the set 25-16.

In the second set, Georgia jumped out to an early 9-7 lead. The Orange rallied back, scoring six unanswered points to take a 13-9 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish. The Bulldogs tried to pull close, but some late-set kills by senior Monika Salkute helped the Orange take the second set 25-21.

The third set was a fantastic one for senior outside hitter Nicolette Serratore. Early on, the set went back and forth, resulting in an early 10-10 tie. A Serratore kill on an Auburn serve gave Syracuse an 11-10 lead, and returned the service to the Orange.

SU took the next five points on its serve, with Serratore racking up four of her season- and team-high six service aces in that span. Serratore also tallied five of her nine kills in the set. The Bulldogs brought the score back to within one late in the set to make it 21-20, but doomed itself with a string of errors. The Orange won the third set, 25-21, and swept all three sets.

Seniors Silvi Uattara and Gosia Wlaszczuk continued leading the Orange offense. Uattara had a team-high 10 kills, and Wlaszcuk had a team-high 20 assists.

Salkute, whose kill was the decisive 25th point in the third set, racked up eight kills on only 13 attempts, which made for an impressive .538 attacking percentage.

SU will play Arizona in Brooklyn, New York on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at the LIU Blackbird Invitational.

Published on September 6, 2015 at 4:45 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer