Starting off the season 8-0 sounded pretty sweet to the Syracuse volleyball team. But knocking off an in-state rival in its home opener sounded even better.

‘We need to beat every New York state team,’ Orange assistant coach Carol LaMarche said. ‘Buffalo wants to get us every year. We know that. It’s a fun in-state rivalry. We were definitely pumped to play.’

The Orange earned a victory over Buffalo 26-24, 25-21, 25-21, battling at all the opportune times to extend its unbeaten streak to eight matches. Behind stellar performances by outside hitters Mindy Stanislovaitis and Noemie Lefebvre, Syracuse got everything it needed at all the right times.

But along the way, that ‘fun rivalry’ seemed to be turning increasingly fierce by the point.

Coming into the match, Syracuse led the series against Buffalo 19-3. On paper, getting a win wouldn’t have looked as if it would be too much of a problem. It looked as if it should be easy.

But just like in any rivalry, players make the big plays when called upon. And this match was no different. Both teams fought for every point, refusing to give in at any given time.

Tuesday, SU wasn’t about to let the Bulls leave with a win. Even when it seemed Buffalo had a chance, key plays were made to erase any of that.

And it seemed for the entire match that both Lefebvre and Stanislovaitis became increasingly better as the pressure situations mounted.

‘Mindy’s showing some senior leadership out there,’ LaMarche said. ‘You can probably tell by the stats that she got a lot of sets tonight. We were really pushing her to hit well.’

Rivalry or no rivalry, if this was any sort of test, Stanislovaitis had no problems passing.

She finished with 10 kills and two blocks. Lefebvre was right there with her, notching nine kills and two blocks.

When the Orange began to struggle in the first set, the Bulls took advantage. Buffalo scored five straight points to tie the score at 23.

But showing that this wasn’t just any match against any team, the Orange got a key block by Lefebvre that allowed Syracuse to get the 25th point. It also propelled Syracuse to take the match.

‘Obviously, blocking is a big part of the game,’ Lefebvre said. ‘I think it gave us the momentum when we needed it in crucial times.’

Stanislovaitis said, after the match, that when big blocks needed to be made, she worked that much harder to get them.

‘It’s my senior year, I’m trying to play as hard as I can,’ Stanislovaitis said. ‘I’m just trying to go out with a bang, so it’s been good.’

What may have been most important was that the performances by Stanislovaitis and Lefebvre let everyone else on the court do her job.

Because in this match, the blocks were taken care of.

‘When the outsides are blocking well, it makes the middle’s job really easy,’ freshman middle blocker Lindsay McCabe said. ‘It was definitely a big contribution.’

And when the pressure mounted, the contributions only became more frequent.

In a game against an opponent Syracuse felt it had to beat, the big moments had to happen to send Buffalo home with the loss.

‘I think that it’s just playing as hard as we can,’ Stanislovaitis said. ‘It just so happens that when you need a big block, you work that much harder to try and get that.’

No matter who’s making the big plays, getting the important kills or blocks, one thing is clear for Syracuse.

Only one team reigns in New York.

‘We always want to beat a New York team,’ senior Sarah Hayes said. ‘We don’t lose to New York teams.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on September 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman