The worry that was in the mind of every Syracuse player last week has been replaced by confidence this week. There aren’t any possible problems or stresses anymore. Everyone’s healthy, which means there’s no reason not to do what everyone on the team sees as the only option — win.

‘We’re definitely more confident, I think we’re really excited,’ outside hitter Hayley Todd said. ‘I think before we were more concerned just with the status of players, so now we’re not so worried about that.’

Heading into a Big East matchup against Marquette (12-7, 3-2 Big East) on Saturday, there has been a change in the mindset of the Orange. Last week, there was some concern about whether or not SU (20-2, 3-2 Big East) was a contender or pretender. But two wins against Connecticut and St. John’s dispelled any notion that Syracuse isn’t capable of racking up wins against teams in its conference.

From that point on, every game just became increasingly important. Every win helps send the Orange to a higher position in the conference standings.

‘That’s always the goal, it’s always in the back of our minds from day one,’ Todd said. ‘So now it’s exciting that we’re just there.’

The Orange also gets to play one more game at home, where it is 5-0, before heading back out on the road. The Orange is just 1-2 away from Syracuse, when it goes up against conference opponents.

Don’t bother asking Syracuse whether or not it means anything to be playing the Big East basement teams rather than those at the top. The answer is going to be, well, expected — each game is important. No matter who the opponent is.

And in some ways, playing against teams that don’t call for the Orange’s most mistake-free game isn’t always a good thing, middle blocker Lindsay McCabe said.

‘I’m not sure that’s an advantage, because I feel like we get used to playing not-as-strong competition,’ McCabe said. ‘But it does give us a chance to get our side of the court down and under control.’

Still, for the Orange, it’s all about racking up the wins now. When it goes up against the teams that will pose the toughest challenges and the truest tests, it’ll have enough wins to already have proved supremacy. That’s exactly why those wins against UConn and St. John’s were needed; and heading into a game against Marquette, the confidence level of the team is as high as ever.

Going into last weekend, the goal for SU was to play its way into the top eight in the Big East. With two wins added onto its conference record, it did that. But now the top five is what’s fueling the Orange to get a win on its mission to the top of the conference.

‘I think they’re excited,’ Syracuse assistant coach Carol LaMarche said. ‘They know what it means, so we don’t really need to talk too much about it. They’re focused.’

Both Syracuse and Marquette sit with the same conference record. And both teams also started their Big East schedule without some key components of their lineups. The Orange began without libero Ashley Williams, due to a knee injury, and a shoulder injury kept outside hitter Ashley Beyer out of the Golden Eagles’ offense.

With both players back, both teams are at full strength. Whoever gets the victory will have done that much more to prove it belongs among the Big East’s elite. Even further, a win against Marquette could do more than just propel SU into an even higher position in the Big East. It could also start to send the Golden Eagles on their way out of contention.

Just one more worry Syracuse could rid itself of.

‘Now we’re both full force,’ LaMarche said. ‘It’s going to be a battle. Marquette’s going to be one of the teams that are right there with us. This win would just help push us up that much more.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on October 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman