VOLLEYBALL DROPS 3-2 DECISION TO SYRACUSE IN THE FINAL MATCH OF BIG ORANGE TOURNAMENT

8/29/2009

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Sarah Morton had a team-best 17 kills, including four in the decisive fifth set, to lead Syracuse to a 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-9) victory over Sacramento State in the third and final round of the Big Orange Volleyball Tournament Saturday evening at the Manley Field House.

With the loss, Sacramento State concluded the season-opening tournament with a second-place finish and a 2-1 record, which included victories over Siena and New Hampshire. Syracuse finished with a 3-0 record and was crowned champions of the tournament by virtue of its undefeated record.
For Sacramento State, freshman Janelle Currey was named all-tournament after finishing the tourney with averages of 3.62 kills and 3.23 digs per set while leading the Hornets with 53.0 total points scored.

Sacramento State jumped out to a 2-1 sets lead after overcoming a 21-19 deficit in the third set. The Hornets were just two points from victory in the fourth set, but with the score tied at 23-23, Syracuse used a Sacramento Stat attack error and a kill from Noemie Lefebvre to claim a 25-23 fourth set victory.
That forced the fifth and decisive set where Sacramento State hit just .000 with six kills and six errors in 25 attacks. Conversely, the Orange hit .280 with nine kills and just two errors in 25 attacks. Sacramento State had a 4-3 lead in the fifth, but Syracuse closed the set on a 12-5 run to win the set and match.

For Sacramento State, senior Desiree Hoyum led all players with 20 kills while also posting 23 digs. In fact, the Hornets tallied 105 digs as a team, including a career-high 33 from sophomore Breanne Menees. Currey had 16 kills and 18 digs while both senior Melissa Melcher and freshman Sydney Kordic each had 12 digs to round out the five Sacramento State players with double figures in digs.

Junior MaddisonThivierge had 14 kills, four blocks and a .300 hitting percentage (14-5-30) and freshman Eryn Kirby added seven kills for the Hornets.
Syracuse controlled the action at the net, finishing with 18.0 team blocks including 15 from Morton. Of Morton’s 15 blocks, six were solos. Joining Morton with double figures in kills for the Orange were Lefebvre (15) and Kacie MacTavish (13).

The Hornets return to action next weekend when the team hosts the Sacramento State Invitational. During the two-day tournament, the team will take on Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m., and face both UC Riverside (12:30 p.m.) and Santa Clara (7:30 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 5. For the complete tournament schedule, click here.