Orange Outlast Eagles in Five

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Boston College volleyball team (19-11, 10-7 ACC) took Syracuse (11-13, 8-9 ACC) to five sets for the second time this season, but fell short as the Orange played a balanced attack, out-blocking the Eagles 21-8 and hitting at a .214 clip.

The Eagles were led by junior Clare Naughton, who tallied her second double-double of the season, tallying 10 kills and 10 digs. Jill Strockis was just short of the same stat line, recording 10 kills and nine digs over the five-set match. Amaka Chukwujekwu hit at a match-best .409, tallying 12 kills off of 22 attempts. Naughton and Torey Baum served up the Eagles' two aces of the afternoon as Jane DeJarld set up 25 of her teammates' points.

DeJarld also kept the ball off the floor, adding a team-best 12 digs. Chukwujekwu led on the blocking front, stopping two solo and assisting on three.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 – Syracuse opened up to a 4-2 lead before allowing a kill from Strockis. The Orange added two back to keep ahold of its lead but a service error from Kendra Lukacs sparked a trade off in points to find a 9-6 lead for Syracuse. BC added three straight to find a tie at 9-9, but a 4-0 run for Syracuse regained its lead. The teams traded off once again before BC found its footing for three straight points into a 17-all knot. The story remained the same for the next few points on each side, but a 3-0 run for BC gained the Eagles the lead at 23-21 and took the win on a solo block from Chukwujekwu, 25-23.
Set 2 – The Orange gained the first lead with a 9-4 advantage and only allowed three points from BC before finding a 14-8 lead. Syracuse continued the push, going out to 20-14, before the Eagles rallied off four straight points to come within two. Syracuse capped the set with a 5-2 run, ending with a kill from Polina Shemanova and a block from Dana Gardner, 25-20.
Set 3 – Despite Syracuse holding the opening lead at 7-3, Naughton would go on to serve up eight straight points for a 9-0 run to gain the Eagles a 12-7 lead which they wouldn't give up. Syracuse added one before BC tallied two more, but the Orange bounced for a run of their own to find a 14-14 score. The teams traded rallies but the Eagles held off the home team, taking the win on a kill from Strockis, 25-21.
Set 4 – A 5-0 opening rally for the Orange set the team in the direction they wanted, as they would only allow six points from the Eagles before rattling off eight straight points for a 10 point lead at 16-6. BC only added two points before Syracuse earned five of the next six, as the Orange earned tied the match despite a late four-point rally from the Eagles. Another kill from Shemanova capped the win, 25-16.
Set 5 – The teams forced ties to a 5-5 score, but an 8-1 run for the Orange all but sealed the win in its favor as the match went to Syracuse with a kill from Elena Karakasi, 15-9.

UP NEXT
The Eagles return to Power Gym for one final regular season match on Saturday, Nov. 30 for Senior Day. First serve is set for 12:00 PM as the match will be featured on the ACC Network.

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Team Stats

Amaka Chukwujekwu

Jill Strockis

Cat Balido

Clare Naughton

Players Mentioned

Torey Baum

Amaka Chukwujekwu

Jane DeJarld

Clare Naughton

Jill Strockis

Players Mentioned

Torey Baum

Amaka Chukwujekwu

Jane DeJarld

Clare Naughton

Jill Strockis