Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Leonid Yelin called a timeout to motivate his team after Syracuse dropped a point and trailed Boston College 13-18 in the first set. The Orange were struggling compared to their usual dominance so far this season, and even after the timeout, Syracuse wasn’t able to come back and win the game.

Syracuse (11-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped its ACC opener and its second game of the season against Boston College (11-4, 1-0 ACC) in four sets.

In the first set, Syracuse kept the score close with BC and, at one point, even led 12-10. However, Gabby McCaa and Grace Penn ignited a 12-3 Eagles run to take a 22-13 lead before finishing the set on a kill by Alayna Crabtree. BC’s effort was on display when a Boston College player dove for the ball far outside of the court to keep the rally alive, allowing Clare Naughton time to secure the kill.

Outside hitter Marina Markova seemed to settle into a rhythm early in the second set as she jumped high above the net for a spike to get the kill. The set was back and forth and Syracuse’s lead dipped to 20-19, but the Orange capitalized on a string of BC errors to win the set 25-22. Markova and Polina Shemanova combined for 12 kills, which would be the most they would get combined in a set throughout the whole game. The two finished with a combined 32 kills, which is below average for the pair.

Elena Karakasi also finished the night with 29 assists, but there were several instances when SU’s front line would fail to put pressure up front and Karakasi struggled to handle spikes from BC players.

At times, even Markova and Shemanova couldn’t capitalize on sets, as Syracuse dropped the third set by a difference of eight points — nine of which were lost on errors from Shemanova or Markova hitting the ball too far.

In the fourth and final set, Syracuse looked exhausted, breathing heavily and showed little emotion compared to Boston College who was energized after successful plays. The Eagles made an error to open the set, but that was the only lead the Orange would get. At one point, BC’s Grace Penn had three consecutive kills, giving the Eagles an 18-10 lead. After that, Boston College would go on a 7-4 run to win the fourth and final set.

Syracuse, who has only trailed for two sets this season, struggled to settle into a rhythm all game. Syracuse finished with seven more attack errors and a 10% lower hitting percentage, something uncharacteristic of its play so far this season.

Published on September 22, 2021 at 10:55 pm

Contact Adam: amccaffe@syr.edu