Santita Ebangwese’s kill that evened the score at in the second set was emphatic, but not as emphatic as the roar she let out to hype up her team to a second set victory. Ebangwese, a junior middle blocker, tallied 13 kills in Syracuse’s (1-1) four-set defeat to Grand Canyon (1-0) Friday night, a loss attributed to unforced errors and lack of communication.

But junior setter Jalissa Trotter shined Friday night at the Women’s Building. Trotter tallied 35 assists, 30 more than her next-highest teammate and 24 more than her tally against Siena earlier in the day, an SU victory.

“My mindset was different,” Trotter said. “I think I did a better job preparing mentally”.

Trotter’s service fueled SU’s second and third sets. She assisted her two main hitters, Ebangwese and freshman Ella Saada, a combined 13 times. Then she dominated in the third and fourth sets, both of which Grand Canyon won.

“We definitely had really nice runs,” Ebangwese said. “The only thing that killed our momentum were unforced errors.”

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Intensity was at its highest late in the second and third sets, when GCU and SU traded points until one of the two finally elongated their lead to two points to win the set.

SU had nine fewer kills than Grand Canyon. The ‘Lopes boasted a hitting percentage of .239, while the Orange posted an inferior .175. Trotter was supplying, but her hitters did not convert at a consistent enough rate.

Trotter’s consistent service will not lead to success without consistent hitting, said head coach Leonid Yelin. Yelin said he believed his team was trying to execute individually rather than collectively.

Trotter hopes to keep her consistency and assist numbers up, which she failed to do after a  45-assist showing against Colgate in the second game last season. The next two games, the then-sophomore recorded just nine total assists, a drop-off she will seek to avoid.

Published on August 25, 2017 at 11:18 pm

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu