Coming into the season, the Syracuse volleyball team knew it had to have a more balanced offense to be successful. That’s what happens when a team loses an offensive threat like Sarah Morton, who led the Orange with 379 kills last year.

The Orange didn’t waste any time putting its new offensive plan into action at the Colgate Classic Tournament Friday and Saturday, and it rode that plan all the way to the tournament title with victories over Fairfield, Rhode Island and Colgate.

‘It was a good first weekend,’ assistant coach Carol LaMarche said in a phone interview. ‘They were able to get the jitters out, and we saw a lot of good things.’

Syracuse took the first match against Fairfield, putting up a strong defensive effort right along with the balanced offense.

After losing the first set 25-23, the Orange battled back to take the next three sets from Fairfield. On the strength of 51 kills from its offense throughout the match, Syracuse won those sets 25-21, 25-13 and 25-19, sending it to its first victory of the season.

Right-side hitter Mindy Stanislovaitis made sure Fairfield never had a chance to get back into the match. The senior led the offensive charge for the Orange with 11 kills and a .529 hitting percentage.

If there were any doubts about whether the Orange offense truly would have a new look to it, Syracuse put them to rest in its second match against Rhode Island.

The Orange moved on to defeat the Rams in straight sets. Sophomore middle blocker Samantha Hinz had 11 kills, while junior outside hitter Noemie Lefebvre notched nine digs.

The Orange had seven players contribute with kills. Overall, the Orange had 42 kills, while the Rams had just 32.

In the final match of the tournament, the Orange put together a strong overall performance on both ends of the court.

Syracuse defeated rival Colgate 3-1, taking the final three sets after losing the first. The Orange offense exploded for 69 total kills, with four different players having double-digit kills.

Lefebvre had a career-high 23 kills and 11 digs, while senior outside hitter Hayley Todd had 16 kills and Lindsay McCabe added 11 of her own. Hinz finished the match with 10.

Nine different players recorded digs, while Laura Homann had a career-best 54 assists.

The Orange now heads to Birmingham, Ala. for the Samford Tournament on Sept. 3 and 4. Even though the Orange started off its season with a tournament title, it isn’t about to have any lofty expectations or predictions about where it could end up.

‘I think it’s still really early to make predictions,’ LaMarche said. ‘We’re pleased with how it went, and we were able to make the mental adjustments we needed to.’

 cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on August 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman