The Syracuse bench players all stood up and clapped slowly in anticipation of the final point. It had only been an hour and a half since the match began, but the Orange was already on the verge of victory.

SU (9-2) worked economically and dismantled the Buffalo Bulls (1-12) in three sets on Sunday night at the Women’s Building. It was the third win of the weekend for Syracuse and it secured a first-place finish in the Syracuse Tournament.

SU played a game earlier Sunday against Navy and though the Orange was the better team coming into the match, it started slowly and seemed to have an impact on how Syracuse played in the nightcap.

“We actually stepped up because the morning game we started actually rough,” said senior outside hitter Monika Salkute. “We have to be the leaders of this tournament, and that was our goal, so we just focused more then the first game.”

Syracuse won all three sets by scores of 25-13, 25-16 and 25-10. The Orange played better than the Bulls in many facets of the game. SU racked up kills quickly, preventing the Bulls from keeping rallies alive for an extended period of time.

On defense, the Orange managed to dig out most of the hits that the Bulls sent over. Improved ball control helped the offense run at nearly peak efficiency throughout much of the match.

Head coach Leonid Yelin was pleased with the cohesiveness and synergy that his team showed on the court.

“Our ball control got better, so the setter has an opportunity to move (the) ball around, and puts hitters in better situations when its open spots, they can hit better,” Yelin said.

That formula was on full display tonight, as the Orange was also aided by Buffalo’s poor attack. The team came into the match sporting an exceptionally low hitting percentage of .127. With the Bulls failing to hit many balls well, there were many instances when Syracuse got easy points with a very textbook dig-to-set and set-to-kill cycle.

Playing such a pristine and crisp game seemed to wear out Buffalo. Although they lost the second set the Bulls brought it to within two points when a kill cut the deficit to 14-16.

After closing the second set on a 7-1 run, the Orange opened up the third set with an 11-1 run that effectively sealed the fate of the match. There wasn’t a single moment in the set in which the Bulls scored even two points in a row as the Orange seemed to save its best for last.

The Orange will play Boston College on Friday night in its first Atlantic Coast Conference match of the season. ACC play was a struggle for the team last season, but the improved efficiency that the team showed Sunday — and throughout the whole season thus far — has most of its players, including Gosia Wlaszczuk, excited about the challenge.

“I expect to have the best season I had in Syracuse, and I know that my team is the best one I’ve had in the period that I’m here,” Wlaszczuk said.

Published on September 20, 2015 at 10:31 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer