SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Virginia volleyball (9-10, 1-5 ACC) fell in straight sets on Sunday (Oct. 13) at Syracuse (5-8, 2-4 ACC) by a score of 25-17, 25-15, 25-17.
 
Syracuse’s strong serve kept Virginia off-balance in attack all afternoon, as the Cavaliers recorded just 21 kills in the match. Jayna Francis (Virginia Beach, Va.) led the Cavaliers with six kills. Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla.) added five in the loss.
 
The Orange were paced by Polina Shemanova with 19 kills and 16 digs. Ella Saada added another 11 kills for Syracuse.
 
Set 1: Syracuse 25-17
After a slow start offensively, Virginia rallied from an early hole to tie the set at 11-11. Mattison Matthews (Charleston, S.C.) had back-to-back kills to draw the Cavaliers even but Syracuse rattled off the next five points to pull away. Kendra Lukacs had a pair of aces in the run to put the Orange in control.
 
Syracuse hit .316 in the set, led by Shemanova with seven kills, while Virginia hit just .086 in attack.
 
Set 2: Syracuse 25-15
Much like the opening set, Virginia dug an early hole with three service errors. The Cavaliers rallied to tie it at 9-9 but a 3-0 Orange run opened a 14-11 lead. The advantage would grow to six at 21-15 as Syracuse pulled away once again.
 
After a Virginia timeout, Syracuse scored the final four points of the set for a 25-15 victory.
 
Set 3: Syracuse 25-17
Syracuse opened a 10-5 lead to begin the third set and never looked back. Virginia was limited to just six kills in the frame while hitting .069. Meanwhile, Syracuse floored a match-best 17 kills in the set and hit .286 to complete the sweep.
 
QUICK HITS
• Virginia’s 21 kills are the fewest by the Cavaliers in a match since 2016.
• Syracuse racked up seven aces and capitalized on another eight service errors from Virginia.
• Virginia’s .063 hitting percentage also marked a season low.
• Alex Spencer (North Canton, Ohio) picked up a team-leading 13 digs in the match.
 
UP NEXT
Virginia returns home to face NC State and North Carolina in a pair of ACC contests next weekend.