Three days, three matches, three tough opponents.

The Syracuse volleyball team leaves today for its first road trip of the Big East season, its second consecutive weekend with three matches in as many days.

Syracuse (10-6) plays non-conference foe Albany (9-6) and conference opponents Seton Hall (8-10) and Rutgers (11-4) on consecutive days this weekend.

Syracuse assistant coach Alexis Dankulic doesn’t mind the format of the Orangewomen’s road trips, especially when Syracuse travels by bus.

‘(The road trips) are actually not that big a deal,’ Dankulic said, ‘The girls are used to it. We do it all the time. Every weekend (road trip) is like that.’

Dankulic said the bus rides give Syracuse some time to themselves during the hectic weekend.

‘The girls are able to watch a movie, study and sleep on the bus,’ Dankulic said. ‘It’s pretty comfortable.’

Junior Christen Casey has been through a number of weekend trips during her college career. Though Casey said the team gets some time to rest on the bus, she knows from experience that the weekend will be exhausting.

‘It’s just a long weekend,’ Casey said, ‘A lot of times the results of that is that we keep on losing.’

Last year, the Orangewomen were 5-7 on the road.

After a 9-1 start, the Orangewomen have lost five of their last six matches. They opened the Big East season last weekend with two losses, and this week’s practices have focused on areas where Syracuse has struggled.

‘We’ve been really working hard on our left-side defense,’ Dankulic said. ‘We’ve been really pushing our middles and our middle offense which we need to work on.’

Dankulic expects Seton Hall and Rutgers to attack the left side of the Syracuse block frequently.

Freshman Aila Dommestrup, who saw increased playing time in last weekend’s matches, said SU focused primarily on improving its defense this week.

‘Defense has been a lower point in some of our games the last couple of weekends,’ Dommestrup said.

Two Orangewomen will split time at setter. Last week, an injury to junior Michaela Skelly provided freshman Kathryn Dercher considerable playing time. Dankulic said each will play on the road trip.

‘Both Kathryn and (Michaela) are pretty even,’ Dankulic said. ‘Whoever is having the better day is going to start.’

Rutgers, picked third in the conference preseason poll, has won two pre-conference tournaments. Seton Hall comes into the match against Syracuse having lost three straight. The Orangewomen will open the weekend’s matches against Albany tonight in University Gymnasium. Syracuse is 2-0 all-time against the Great Danes, including a sweep last season at Manley Field House.

With many hours on the road ahead of them, SU looks forward to possibly improving its Big East record.

‘Hopefully, we can keep our focus and be positive about the trip,’ Casey said.

‘We’re all pretty pumped up,’ Dommestrup said, ‘We want to prove ourselves and play the game we know we can play.’

Published on October 3, 2002 at 12:00 pm